The latest Closing the Gap data is another part of the "disturbing trend" of regression in key metrics for Indigenous people, the peak body for First Nations children has said.

Data published Wednesday evening found the governments were "shirking responsibility" with Productivity Commissioner and Gungarri man Selwyn Button calling the continued business-as-usual policies by governments "the definition of insanity".

Whilst there was progress in some key areas across states and territories, suicide rates, child removal and early childhood development are all worsening since the baseline year of 2018/19; adult incarceration has increased 15 per cent in just one year.

Children's developmental readiness for school is also tracking in the wrong direction.

SNAICC – National Voice of Our Children said the report painted a "grim picture," with chief executive and Arrernte and Luritja woman Catherine Liddle saying it needed to be a "wake up call" to governments to renew their commitment to the agreement.

She said the findings showed "just how much work is left to do," and without substantial and meaningful change many First Nations children "will be left behind".

The report hasn't taken in data since the NT lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 10 - which experts say will only increase juvenile Indigenous incarceration - nor has it taken in Victoria's decision to strengthen bail laws, mirroring the decision in NSW which Premier Chris Minns celebrated as having increased incarceration numbers.

Only four of the 19 targets are on track to be met: early childhood education, employment, land rights and sea rights.

The rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care has risen from 47.3 per 1,000 in 2019 to 50.3 per 1,000 in 2024.

Victoria remains the jurisdiction with the highest removal rate, at 90.3 per 1,000 Indigenous children as of June 30 last year, followed by South Australia.

Last year, the Yoorrook Justice Commission heard stories of child removal related to domestic violence, poverty, and racism in Victoria. These include unborn notifications against First Nations mothers allegedly seeing one in five children being removed before they are three months old.

Deputy Chair, Sue-Anne Hunter told National Indigenous Times last month the child protection system in Victoria was "failing First Peoples".

"The system remains broken for our people. It is time for action," Ms Hunter said.

Nationally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are almost 11 times more likely to be placed in care than their non-Indigenous peers.

"These are not the failings of our children, our families or our organisations," Ms Liddle said.

Last year, the final report of the Commission's first three-yearly review of government action on the National Agreement found governments have "failed to fully grasp the nature and scale of change" needed to meet the obligations they signed up to under the agreement.

Ms Liddle said recommendations at the time were laid out to initiate change, but governments at both federal and state levels "have still not committed to the findings of this report".

"It's just not good enough," she said. "It's clear the 'business as usual approach' is not hitting the mark, and the need for community-led early intervention programs and family support services are not being met."

Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy told the ABC after the data was released the federal government remained committed to improving the lives of First Nations people, but acknowledged more work was required.

"The National Agreement ... remains the critical framework for delivering improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in partnership with states and territories, local government and First Nations Peak organisations," Senator McCarthy said.

Mr Button said the continued "worsening of outcomes" in some Closing the Gap metrics "shows the importance of governments taking their commitments to the National Agreement seriously and taking meaningful actions to fully implement the priority reforms".

Ms Liddle highlighted the federal opposition's call for a Royal Commission into sexual abuse in remote Indigenous communities when "emotional abuse and neglect are the primary type of harm for almost 80 per cent of substantiated child protection notifications" for Indigenous children while "sexual abuse is the primary abuse type in 7 per cent of substantiated notifications".

"Systems built for us, but without us, will never drive the change we have to see," she said.

"If we continue down this path, we will fail in our shared responsibility to protect and care for these children, and to give them the opportunity to succeed."