The First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria is gathering at state parliament on Wednesday for the first meeting of its second term after election results were announced last month.
The 22 assembly members were welcomed through a smoking ceremony at parliament gardens before they entered the Legislative Council together.
There was a Welcome to Country and performance from the Djirri Djirri dancers before outgoing co-chairs Aunty Geraldine Atkinson and Marcus Stewart spoke to the members.
Aunty Geraldine said it had been an honour to serve in the assembly but the hard work towards Treaty was far from over.
"What happens next is up to you," she told the assembly.
"We want you to take this message stick, uphold our culture, rejuvenate our languages and practices and do all our mobs proud."
Aunty Geraldine said the state government and federal politicians were finally understanding that laws and policies about Indigenous people need to be crafted by Indigenous people.
She urged the assembly to push for a yes vote in the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Mr Stewart also used his final speech to push for change at a federal level.
"The voice will be a stepping stone - voice, treaty, truth is a package deal," he told the assembly.
"I've helped progress all three here in Victoria and I'll help progress all three on a national level, and I urge all members to as well.
Any step forward that gives Aboriginal people more say over the decisions that impact their lives is a step we need to take.
The assembly's new co-chairs will be elected behind closed doors on Wednesday afternoon.
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight, former Department of Premier and Cabinet staffer Barry Firebrace-Briggs and Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Council member Rodney Carter are among the 11 first-time assembly members.
The assembly's first term was largely occupied with brokering Treaty framework deals with the Victorian government, laying the foundation for the negotiations.
Its second iteration will get down to the business of actual statewide treaty talks, which are slated to begin later this year.
