States and territories have been urged by federal ministers to allow United Nations human rights investigators access to government-operated facilities.
The call from Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy came after UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples Albert K Barume was blocked by the Northern Territory and Queensland governments from visiting youth detention centres.
Dr Barume's statement from late October came ahead of his visit to Australia this month to examine human rights issues affecting Indigenous Australians.
Speaking at a Closing the Gap council meeting on Friday, Senator McCarthy called on jurisdictions to welcome the human rights expert.
Senator McCarthy said she had voiced this to all Indigenous affairs ministers before the joint council meeting in Canberra.
"It is important, in my view, that the special rapporteur does get to visit those facilities, but also has the conversation," she said.
The Northern Territory has twice now barred UN investigators access to inspect prisons.
Senator McCarthy said the government was "seriously looking" at state and territory funding agreements to meet national Closing the Gap targets.
A July report tracking Australia's progress found just one of the 19 targets had been achieved more than halfway through the 2031 agreement period.
Just three areas targeting socio-economic disparity are likely to be met on time, the Productivity Commission report revealed.
"It is important to acknowledge that one target has been met," Senator McCarthy said, adding there was still a "long way to go".
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In light of the report, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss in July condemned Australia's lack of progress.
She said governments had broken their promise to Indigenous communities.
Targets on track to be met by 2031 include employment, with the share of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25 to 64 in work on track to reach the 62 per cent target by 2031.
The five targets that are improving but not on track include education and housing with more young people finishing year 12, more adults holding tertiary qualifications and more youth in work, education or training.
Justice remains one of the biggest causes for concern.
The rate of First Nations prisoners jumped to more than 2500 per 100,000 adults in 2025 and up from more than 2300 a year earlier and more than 550 in 2019.
Imprisonment rates have risen across most jurisdictions since 2019, with the Northern Territory suffering the worst blowout - an increase of 1609 prisoners per 100,000 adults in six years - while Victoria is the only state with a clear fall.
First Nations youths remain heavily over-represented in detention, with 25.7 children aged 10 to 17 per 10,000 in custody on an average day in 2024/25.
Australian Associated Press
