In 2017, Victoria enacted the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act, the first law in Australia to recognise a river as a living entity. For the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Peoples — the Traditional Owners of the Birrarung (Yarra River) — the Act marked a profound moment. After nearly two centuries of colonisation — including the dispossession of, and displacement from, the Birrarung — their worldview was finally written into law through the recognition of their millennia-old custodianship of the river. The Act acknowledges the Traditional Owners’ creation story, declares the Birrarung as “alive, with a heart and spirit”, incorporates the Woi-wurrung language in the legislation’s title and preamble, and creates the Birrarung Council as an independent advisory body that enables the Traditional Owners to speak on behalf of the river. This post argues that while the Act represents a historic step towards recognition, it falls short of achieving justice under international law.

These achievements should not be understated. They mark a turning point in Victoria’s self-perception, its environment, and its obligations to Traditional Owners. The Birrarung Council has become a vehicle for river governance, and the Act’s recognition of the Traditional Owners’ custodianship has inspired dialogue and collaboration between communities and government entities. For the Traditional Owners, having their names, language, and worldview written into law is a hard-won, long-overdue victory.

Yet, symbolic recognition has its limits. Viewed through the lens of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Act falls short of meeting the minimum standards for Indigenous Peoples’ rights under international law. The Traditional Owners hold advisory roles only; their recommendations do not bind government decision-makers on how the river is managed. This limitation underscores a broader issue in Australian law, where Indigenous participation is often framed as cultural consultation rather than meaningful participation in decision-making. Moreover, the Act formally recognises the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Peoples, but omits the Bunurong Peoples — despite their long-standing custodianship of the river. And while the Act speaks of custodianship, it does not embed the Traditional Owners’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) — an international legal standard under UNDRIP that requires governments to obtain Indigenous Peoples’ agreement before taking any action that affects their lands, waters, and rights.

This gap between symbolic recognition and decision-making authority matters. Australia endorsed UNDRIP in 2009, affirming Indigenous rights to self-determination, co-governance, and meaningful participation. Laws that symbolically celebrate Indigenous culture without redistributing decision-making authority risk reinforcing colonial legacies.

Indeed, the Birrarung’s story is inseparable from Victoria’s colonial history. The river was possessed and renamed by British colonisers, polluted and degraded during Melbourne’s industrial expansion, and governed for generations without the Traditional Owners’ voices. UNDRIP is designed precisely to address such structural exclusions. Its principles — self-determination, FPIC, respect for culture, and equity — provide the minimum global standard that modern laws must meet. However, when advisory roles are the ceiling rather than the floor of post-colonial governance frameworks, there is a risk of repeating old colonial patterns.

The timing also matters. The failure of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum in 2023, and ongoing treaty and truth-telling processes in Victoria, have placed new focus on how recognition is delivered in law. These processes aim to address Australia’s colonial past and explore rights recognition and co-governance for reconciliation. The Act, therefore, speaks to a wider Australian and international challenge: how do we move from recognition to justice in practice?

The Yarra River Protection Act is globally significant. It tells of change, survival, and recognition long denied. But it also shows how easy it is for recognition to stall at the threshold of justice.

Note: This post draws on my March 2025 open-access publication in the Australian Journal of Human Rights, titled “The Yarra River Protection Act: a step towards implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?”, which has become one of the journal’s “most-read articles of all time”, and was featured by New College (University of Oxford) and the Department of Land Economy (University of Cambridge).