The announcement of funding for programs and services to remote communities have been welcomed by Indigenous advocates who say it is what they have long been calling for to help close the gap.

The $842.6 million Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment (NTRAI) was announced on Friday, and will fund services like policing, women's safety, education, and alcohol harm reduction.

"This investment will ensure remote First Nations communities have access to the critical services they need, while supporting communities to lead in their economic and social development," Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, said.

A number of Indigenous organisations have been vocal in their call for government decisions factoring in self-determination, mirroring calls by the productivity commission last year.

"Partnering with Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APO NT) will ensure critical services are informed by the perspectives of Aboriginal people living in remote parts of the Territory and strengthen the capacity of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to deliver services in remote areas," Senator McCarthy said.

The Coalition of Peaks welcomed the announcement and said it showed what could be achieved when governments "embed the Priority Reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap".

"This is the first time an agreement of this nature has been negotiated directly with Aboriginal people, in alignment with the Closing the Gap Priority Reforms," Coalition of Peaks lead convenor, Pat Turner, said.

"It is a critical acknowledgement that solutions must be led by our communities if we are to see real and lasting improvements."

The agreement will see up to 12 Aboriginal community-controlled children and family centres funded, as well as the establishment of local groups in up to eight locations, to design and deliver services in community.

Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour, who faces a battle to hold onto her seat in the upcoming federal election, said remote communities are the lifeblood of the NT— "places of deep connection to Country, culture and community".

"I am confident the future pipeline of funds committed through this Partnership Agreement will make significant contributions to enhancing the social and economic well-being of the more than 70 remote communities that I represent," she said.

Progressive outfit Get Up congratulated Ms Scrymgour and NT First Nations representatives for brokering this deal, but argued money was only a "tool," with the effectiveness of the announcement depending "entirely on whether First Nations communities are treated as equal partners in decision-making".

"This investment must be implemented with full self-determination at its core," GetUp's First Nations Campaign Director, Jason Field, said.

"It must be driven by the aspirations of First Nations peoples, not dictated by bureaucrats in Canberra."

The government said the new deal would create over 570 jobs, including more than 278 positions for First Nations Territorians, and support long-term employment in Aboriginal-led service delivery.

The Coalition criticised the announcement, with opposition Indigenous spokesperson Jacinta Nampijinpa Price saying the decision was purely political and wouldn't help Indigenous communities in the long term.

"The Albanese Labor government have had nothing to offer Indigenous affairs since the failed referendum, so they are doing the only thing they know how – pouring more money with little consideration of its effectiveness or efficiency," Senator Price said.

The NT Senator has routinely rejected calls for self-determination to help close the gap, and doubled down on this on Friday.

"It is imperative that our solutions are actually going to improve the lives of marginalised Indigenous Australians rather than just sounding like a lot of money," Senator Price said.

"Self-determination doesn't come from $842.6 million of government welfare and more government funded jobs, it comes from economic independence and learning to standing on one's own two feet."

She also reiterated her calls for a federal audit on all Indigenous organisations and land councils, and argued Indigenous communities needed a "thriving private sector" rather than more government intervention.