Treaty negotiations could begin as early as 2023 as the Victorian Government and First Nations leaders hail a historic move they hope will champion First Nations culture and right the wrongs caused by dispossession.

The Treaty Authority and Other Elements Bill, which passed Victoria's Upper House 32-3 on Tuesday night, establishes Australia's first independent umpire to oversee Treaty and will see the State Government cede some of its power to First Nations people.

First Peoples' Assemby of Victoria co-chairwoman and Bangerang and Wiradjuri Elder Geraldine Atkinson said the Bill would enable First Nations people to establish Treaty on their own terms.

"We've been let down too many times before, but now there is real sense of hope growing, hope that this country is ready to reckon with the past and make amends so we can create a better future together," she said.

"This generation has the opportunity to right past wrongs by making sure the future is one we can be proud of.

"We have here in this place we all call home, the oldest living Culture in the world - it is beautiful and we want to share and celebrate it with everyone.

"All we ask in return is that we regain the freedom and power to make the decisions that affect our lives and our land."

The Treaty Authority will sit outside of State bureaucracy, will not report to a minister, will have funding insulated from the whims of politics and will be entirely First Nations-led.

It will, however, be subject to annual public reporting requirements, including submission of annual reports and financial statements to the minister, and reporting obligations under Federal charity and non-profit laws.

Victorian Attorney General Jaclyn Symes said the Treaty Authority would be established with relationship-building in mind.

"This was a deliberate choice by the Assembly in recognition that... quasi-judicial approaches often fail when relationship building is at the heart of an outcome," she said.

https://www.nit.com.au/historic-vote-paves-way-for-victorian-treaty-as-backers-herald-eye-to-eye-talks-over-lawyering-up/

"They often lead to long-running litigation and, rather than resolving disputes, cause them to take root.

"In recognition that treaties must be forged freely, with the consent of all parties, it is not appropriate for the Treaty Authority to constrain the ability for parties to freely determine their participation in the treaty process."

Ms Symes said the State and Assemby would form a panel to select Treaty Authority members based on skills, morality, cultural standing, integrity, technical expertise, understanding of First Peoples' culture and the workings of government.

While supportive of the Bill, shadow child protection and youth justice minister Matthew Bach said parliament needed to take stronger action to educate about past injustices and address issues facing Indigenous Australians.

"No process that seeks to deal with past injustices, real and painful as they are, can be successful unless we couple that approach with a steely determination to deal with the very real present injustices that we see in Victoria today," he said.

"The work has been done by wonderful community organisations... to demonstrate to decision-makers what we can do very differently so that we desist with these policies that continue to lead to the mass removal of Indigenous babies and Indigenous children.

"I believe those organisations have really significant capacity to deliver culturally appropriate supports early so that we can make real inroads, as we have not done for so many years, into the appalling proportions of Indigenous babies and Indigenous children who are still being removed from their families today."

The Bill passed 32-3, with minor party members Bernie Finn, David Limbrick and Tim Quilty the only ones to oppose it.

Focus now turns to the Treaty negotiation framework and self-determination fund, with an eye to Treaty negotiations commencing in 2023.