Reconciliation and Recognition

The Reconciliation and Recognition Committee maintains an overview of all aspects of the MLS Reconciliation and Recognition Policy and MLS Reconciliation Action Plan.

MLS Reconciliation and Recognition Policy

The objective of this policy is to set out Melbourne Law School’s reconciliation and recognition commitments. It provides the background and justification for the particular goals enumerated in the MLS Reconciliation Action Plan (MLS RAP), and provides principles to guide the implementation and evaluation of those commitments. View the MLS Reconciliation and Recognition Policy here.

Terms of Reference – Reconciliation and Recognition Committee

Melbourne Law School is committed to building and supporting responsible relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and between their respective laws and legal traditions. In particular, the Law School acknowledges the enduring importance of Indigenous law and legal systems, and the longstanding use of Australian law to coerce and dispossess Indigenous peoples, including by undermining the continuity and autonomy of their communities. With this difficult history in mind, the Reconciliation and Recognition Committee is established to maintain an overview of all aspects of the MLS Reconciliation and Recognition Policy and Reconciliation Action Plan of the Melbourne Law School (MLS RAP), including:

Recognition of Indigenous laws, legal systems and cultures in the Law School
Recognition of Indigenous experiences of, and engagement with, Australian law
Establishment and maintenance of relationships with Indigenous communities, institutions, groups and peoples
Attracting, supporting and retaining Indigenous students
Attracting, supporting and retaining Indigenous staff
Ensuring that Indigenous laws and perspectives are incorporated in teaching and learning at the Law School, including in the structure of offerings, the design and delivery of teaching and the experience of students
Ensuring that MLS is implementing an Indigenous Research Plan for developing Indigenous research and researchers at MLS

To advise on MLS and University rules, policies and procedures to the extent that they raise significant policy questions concerning the MLS Reconciliation and Recognition Policy and MLS RAP;

To monitor the resources, performance and support offered by the Law School to further the objectives of the MLS Reconciliation and Recognition Policy and MLS RAP, and make recommendations where appropriate to enhance them;

To make recommendations of principle or policy on any of these matters to the Associate Deans, Deputy Dean, Dean, Law School or to any other Law School board or committee as appropriate;

To report to the Melbourne Law School on these matters including at Departmental Meetings as appropriate.

Acknowledgement of Country

Melbourne Law School acknowledges the Wurundjeri Peoples of the Kulin Nations as the Traditional Owners of the land on which the law school stands. We pay our respects to their Elders both past and present.

Content Warning

This website may contain images or names of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased.

Banner image credit: Ande K Terare, Food Sites, 2010. Language group: Bundjalung, Tribe/clan: Minjungbal.

Ande K Terare was born in 1970 on the North Coast of New South Wales. He gained knowledge of traditional culture from older siblings and other relatives in his family. His paintings depict the traditional ways of life: the land, the natural resources, ceremonies, stories and legends, and contemporary works which are largely influenced by his Aboriginal heritage. He currently shows his work at Art Yarramunua Gallery.

A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is a document that sets out an organisation's commitment to promoting reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the broader Australian community.

The University of Melbourne is committed to building practices that recognise and support responsible lawful relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Melbourne Law School, as a leading Australian legal institution, is committed to the University’s vision and ambition, and we aspire to meet our particular responsibilities in ensuring that Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians have a shared future. MLS is engaged in initiatives and actions that form a key part of the University-wide Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), including the establishment of The Indigenous Community Pilot Program and the implementation of the Classroom Photo Mural Initiative.

Discover more at Reconciliation at Melbourne

The Indigenous Community Pilot Program was established in 2017 to support Indigenous law school students’ success. The program assists students with exploring their indigeneity in the context of the law school (both physical spaces and scholarly experience) and supports them as they prepare for practice in the Australian legal community.

The program intends to ensure that Indigenous students are pedagogically supported through faculty consultation, specialist guidance and professional support.

The pilot program objectives are being fulfilled through the establishment of initiatives in three vital areas:

Community: Providing support with study community meetings with Indigenous students, establishing strong relationships with Murrup Barak and strengthening partnerships with Indigenous and legal organisations.

Academic: Development of study materials, adaptation of pedagogy, professional guidance and support to enable students to explore their Indigeneity in a legal context. Research, bespoke support and academic guidance to enhance student belonging, academic success and the law school’s responsiveness to contested spaces.

Organisation and Planning: Development of information for new student recruitment, removing barriers to enrolment and learning, developing cultural awareness within the law school, and appropriate University of Melbourne academic guidance, pedagogy, and assessment planning.

PILOT TEAM 2017

Bree Williams

Research Fellow, LASC and Indigenous Community Program
Joined LASC, January 2017. Doctor Juridical Science Candidate (Monash), research area: Clear Legal Writing Education in Australia. Previous roles include Knowledge Support Lawyer, Maurice Blackburn, Professional Support Lawyer, Victoria Legal Aid.

Dr Chantal Morton

Senior Lecturer
Director of Teaching and Director Legal Academic Skills Centre (LASC)
Pilot Program Manager.

Dr Olivia Barr

Senior Lecturer
Academic Liaison for the Indigenous Studies Program

A key action as part of the Melbourne Law School’s Reconciliation Action Plan is to consider and implement options that would give prominence and due recognition to Indigenous law and jurisprudence in the Melbourne Law School (MLS) building.

The purpose of the initiative is to locate the long (and important) history of lawful relations between Indigenous People and their legal systems and the Anglo Australian legal system. This initiative will introduce Aboriginal legal histories – as an encounter – into the teaching spaces. The idea is to have a constant presence – through the placement of selected images – that engages the students to know a different legal relationship with Indigenous Peoples, nations and laws; and how that should influence how they conduct themselves within their studies and subsequent practice. The teaching space where the images are to be located – regardless of the topic being taught – will give rise to questions around particular histories, law/s and lawful relationships to the land on which we teach and learn.

MLS is dedicated to Indigenous recognition and reconciliation; it intends to enhance the profile of Indigenous cultures within the MLS building, and aims to increase the visibility of Indigenous presence and clearly communicate the value the Law School places on Indigenous perspectives.

Content Warning

This website may contain images or names of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased.

INSTALLATION OF MABO PLAINTIFFS AND WITNESS WITH THEIR LAWYER, SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND, MAY 1989. L TO R: FATHER DAVE PASSI, EDDIE KOIKI MABO, BONITA MABO, BRYAN KEON-COHEN, JAMES RICE, EDDIE MABO JNR & HENRY KABERE AT MELBOURNE LAW SCHOOL.

INSTALLATION OF A GROUP OF ABORIGINAL MEN AT CORANDERRK STATION, HEALESVILLE.
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER: THOMAS AVOCA; THOMAS BAMFIELD; WILLIAM BARAK (SECOND ROW, THIRD FROM LEFT); CHARLES CABLE; MOONEY CLARK; JOHN COGIE; THOMAS GILMAN; LANKY GILMORE; JOHN LOGAN; BENJAMIN ‘LANKY’ MANTON; EDWARD MCLENNON; THOMAS MCLENNON; SAMUEL ROWAN; FREDERICK STEWART; JOHN TERRICK; RICHARD WERDURUM AT MELBOURNE LAW SCHOOL.