The ACT is a small enough jurisdiction that it should be seeing better results in closing the gap, chairwoman of the capital's Indigenous elected body says.
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The 2016 Closing the Gap report revealed on Wednesday only two out of seven targets in Indigenous health, education and employment were on track to be met on time.
It's the eighth report since targets were set by the Council of Australian Governments in 2008, and it has once again showed limited progress.
The national trends are replicated in the ACT, and are on some measures worse, Diane Collins, chair of the ACT's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, said.
"While we have the one of the best education systems, we still have our mob of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who aren't achieving those education indicators," Ms Collins said.
"Our incarceration rates are significant. We have over 100 people in AMC at this point in time. We have 25 per cent of our kids being placed in the child protection system.
"The trend is that's increasing. So whilst we're talking about these statistics now, we're talking in one, two, five, 10 years time, how horrific is that going to look?"
When working at reversing the trends, Ms Collins said what was missing was direction and guidance from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
"We have goodwill, but goodwill won't deliver good outcomes," she said.
"We struggle with those systems and processes that are government driven.
"Respect and acknowledge that our people have our own solutions, give us the opportunity and empower and enable us to do that, in conjunction and in collaboration with the government."
She said Chief Minister Andrew Barr had a responsibility to put Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues as the forefront of government business.
"Without that collaborative approach, it can't change things, and we have to change. Our people, like I said, are suffering because of this."
"The collaboration is there, but not enough in terms of Aboriginal people being able to drive that [change]."
The ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2015 and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice Partnership 2015-18, signed last year, can play key roles in reshaping how Indigenous affairs is approached in the ACT, Ms Collins said.
The rate of incarceration and children under protection orders should be made a top priority, she said, with certain rates even exceeding the national average.
Researchers have identified a strong link between children in child protection and those in the justice system, and Indigenous children are over-represented in both groups.
Closing the gap: Progress report
1. Halving child mortality by 2018 is on track
2. Ensuring 95% of Indigenous 4-year-olds are in preschool by 2025 is not clear
3. Halving the gap in reading and numeracy by 2018 is mixed
4. Halving the gap in school attendance by 2018 is not on track
5. Halving the gap in Year 12 attainment by 2020 is on track
6. Halving the employment gap by 2018 is not on track
7. Closing gap in life expectancy by 2031 is not on track
