Notice to Enrolees Regarding the Transfer of the Electoral Roll to Electoral Officers appointed by the Treaty Authority
You may have heard that we have negotiated Australia’s first Treaty between First Peoples in Victoria and the Victorian Government. The Statewide Treaty Act 2025 (Vic) (the Act) has now been passed by Parliament to support self-determination and strengthen the voice of First Peoples in Victoria. This Notice explains what we have negotiated. It also explains some changes to how your personal information will be handled.
The Statewide Treaty and the Act work together to establish Gellung Warl as the permanent representative and deliberative body for Traditional Owners and First Peoples in Victoria.
Gellung Warl will take over the existing functions of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria (The Assembly). It will be an evolved form of the current Assembly, with expanded functions, powers and accountabilities.
Gellung Warl will start operating on 1 May 2026. In the first half of 2026, a ‘transitional’ election will be held to elect members to the First Peoples’ Assembly within Gellung Warl, ready to commence work on 1 May 2026.
Transfer of the electoral roll to Electoral Officers appointed by the Treaty Authority for the purposes of Gellung Warl elections
The Act creates an independent office within the Treaty Authority to administer the Gellung Warl electoral roll and conduct Gellung Warl elections. The Treaty Authority is the independent body that oversees Treaty-making in Victoria.
Under the Act, the Assembly electoral roll, which includes your personal information, will become the Gellung Warl electoral roll and be transferred to officers appointed by the Treaty Authority. This will happen in two stages over the coming months.
Stage one transfer
The Assembly will transfer the Assembly electoral roll to the ‘transitional Electoral Officer’ by 2 February 2026.
The transitional Electoral Officer is a temporary appointee of the Treaty Authority. That officer will administer the Assembly electoral roll and conduct Assembly elections in the first half of 2026.
Although the transitional Electoral Officer will hold and store the electoral roll, the electoral roll may also be accessed by the Assembly in accordance with the Assembly’s election rules.
Stage two transfer
On 1 May 2026, the transitional Electoral Officer will transfer the Assembly electoral roll to a permanent ‘Electoral Officer’. The Assembly electoral roll will become known as the Gellung Warl electoral roll on that date.
The Electoral Officer will be appointed by the Treaty Authority. That officer will have ongoing responsibility for the Gellung Warl electoral roll and Gellung Warl elections from 1 May 2026.
Although the Electoral Officer will hold and store the electoral roll from 1 May 2026, the electoral roll may also be accessed by Gellung Warl’s CEO and personnel as required for them to carry out their duties and functions.
How your personal information will be handled
The transitional Electoral Officer, Electoral Officer and Gellung Warl must comply with the confidentiality requirements in all relevant legislation (including Act, the Treaty Authority and Other Treaty Elements Act 2022 (Vic), and the Information Privacy Principles in the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)) when handling your personal information.
You can find more information about how the transitional Electoral Officer will handle your personal information in the Transitional Electoral Officer’s Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy explains: (i) how your personal information will be used and disclosed by the transitional Electoral Officer once transferred (ii) how you may access and correct personal information held by the transitional Electoral Officer once transferred; (iii) how you can lodge a complaint regarding the handling of your personal information; and (iv) how the complaint will be handled.
Before 1 May 2026, you will receive a further notice with information about how the permanent Electoral Officer will handle your personal information.
What you need to do now
- You do not need to do anything – your enrolment continues as usual and you can continue to participate in elections.
- Treaty elections will be held next year so Community can decide the next Assembly to represent First Peoples in the Treaty era. If you want to be part of shaping Australia’s first Treaty, think about putting your hand up as a candidate – or talk to your friends, Elders and family if you know someone who should. The Assembly is made up of elected Members – all proud Traditional Owners of Country in Victoria, who represent all First Peoples in or from Victoria. There are two types of Members: General Members, who are elected by Community, and Reserved Members, who will be chosen by their Traditional Owner groups. In the lead up to the elections, we’ll be in touch with all the information you’ll need to stand as a candidate or cast your vote. The Treaty elections are Blak democracy in action, and your vote matters!
- If you wish to opt out of transferring your information to the transitional Electoral Officer and being on the electoral roll, you can contact us by email or post using the contact details below. If your personal information is not transferred to the transitional Electoral Officer, your details will be removed from the electoral roll and you will not be able to vote in the upcoming election. To opt out, you will need to contact us by 16 January 2026. This is because the Act requires the Assembly to transfer the electoral roll information to the transitional Electoral Officer at a particular point in time.
- If your details have recently changed, you can update your details.
- As a reminder, if showing your residential or postal address (or both) on the electoral roll would place your personal safety or the safety of your family at risk, you can contact us to request to be registered as a silent elector so those details do not appear on the electoral roll.
- After the electoral roll is transferred to the transitional Electoral Officer, you will still be able to be removed from the electoral roll, update your details or request to be registered as a silent elector. Please see the transitional Electoral Officer Privacy Policy for contact details.
How to contact us
To opt out of being on the Assembly electoral roll, you can contact us by email on [email protected] or by post to PO Box 4218 Fitzroy VIC 3065. We may need to seek further information from you to verify your identity before we process your request to opt out.
