Elder Perry Wandin says the goal is collaboration with government and communities to care for and restore the land, not a land grab, underscoring a long fight for recognition of Wurundjeri culture.

Key actors include Slater and Gordon representing the Wurundjeri, Wurundjeri elders Perry Wandin and Bill Nicholson, Boonwurrung elder Carolyn Briggs, and government figures tied to the treaty process, alongside historical context from Yorta Yorta and Terra Nullius cases.

There are six other native title applications currently before the federal court in Victoria, collectively covering much of the state.

Ultimately, the claim aims to establish native title over significant parks and Crown land, boosting Wurundjeri influence on land and water use and protecting culturally important sites, including traditional wildfire-prevention practices in the Dandenong Ranges and Great Dividing Range.

The Wurundjeri people have filed a native title claim over most of Greater Melbourne, spanning roughly 10,420 square kilometres from the Werribee River to Mount Baw Baw and including areas like the Macedon Ranges, Yarra Valley, and part of Port Phillip Bay.

The claim covers key waterways and landscapes, including sections of the Yarra, Maribyrnong, and Plenty rivers, the northern Port Phillip Bay coastline, and Coranderrk, an Aboriginal reserve area.

The aim is to have Wurundjeri laws, customs, and connection to the land legally recognised through native title.

The filing follows Victoria becoming the first Australian state to pass a formal Indigenous treaty, with Wurundjeri elder Di Kerr stressing partnerships with government and Parks Victoria for co-management.

Native title filing is an early, often lengthy process; if granted, it would recognize rights to access, use, and protect land under Wurundjeri laws, along with a right to consultation, though it primarily applies to crown land and has limited impact on private property.

If successful, the claim could become Victoria’s eighth native title determination and the third to cover a capital city, following recognition patterns seen in Adelaide (Kaurna) and Noongar in Western Australia.

This filing follows earlier successful determinations and intensifies boundary considerations amid overlapping claims with the Boonwurrung people.

The process could move toward mediation and negotiated settlements, with an emphasis on co-management of the Birrarung (Yarra River) and related catchments.

The lodgement marks Victoria’s seventh native title application before the Federal Court, as state treaty efforts advance, with plans for a formal Yarra banks signing event, royal assent, and a Federation Square treaty celebration on December 12.

Legal context notes native title rights do not affect freehold ownership; proving continuous connection since European settlement remains a high standard given Victoria’s displacement history.

The claim seeks management involvement in parks and conservation areas within the claim region, potentially including the Dandenong Ranges, Bunyip State Park, Wombat State Forest, and Lerderderg State Park.