The state government has already reached settlement with the Gunaikurnai, Dja Dja Warrung and Taungurung peoples. Credit:Justin McManus

Victorian Aboriginal clans could be in line for future legal settlements worth millions of dollars for the loss of cultural and spiritual rights as the state Labor government embarks on a shake-up of native title laws.

Attorney-General Jill Hennessy says a review of the state’s Traditional Owner Settlement Act could open the way for decisions such as the Timber Creek case, where the High Court awarded $2.5 million last year to a group of traditional owners in the Northern Territory in part for the loss of spiritual connection their land.

Spiritual and cultural connections to the land have been a flashpoint in the bitter legal dispute over the tree-felling along the Western Highway.

Victoria says its settlement act is a unique piece of legislation that seeks to plug gaps in the Federal Native Title Act and has already seen three major agreements reached: with the Gunaikurnai people of Gippsland: the Dja Dja Wurrung people in the mid-north of the state and the Taungurung people from around central Victoria.