A report released on Thursday shows when it comes to some key indicators, including child abuse and imprisonment rates, the situation is getting worse rather than better for Aboriginal Australians.

"We set targets for 2020 (and) we did that deliberately knowing that this was going to be a long-term journey," Ms Gillard told ABC Television.

"You don't turn around decades of difference in life expectancy, education and employment outcomes overnight. That's not possible."

In February last year, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised to halve education and infant mortality gaps within a decade and close the 17-year life expectancy gap within a generation.

In his sorry speech to parliament he also vowed to ensure all four-year-olds in remote communities had access to early childhood education within five years.

Ms Gillard said the latest Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report is "distressing and disappointing for everybody".

Tackling child abuse required action from government "but also personal responsibility and action and leadership in indigenous communities".

"These are huge problems," she said.