Regressive steps and broken promises are hindering Australia closing the gap, the Coalition of Peaks has said.

Speaking ahead of the anniversary of the referendum that voted against creating an Indigenous voice to Parliament, the peak body for Aboriginal community-controlled organisations (ACCOs) has used the occasion to cross check the progress towards Closing the Gap from the national agreement was signed in 2020.

Earlier this year, the first Productivity Commission Closing the Gap report since the referendum revealed 14 of 19 metrics are not on target.

Lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks - who represent more than 80 peak groups - Gudanji-Arrernte woman Patricia Turner said there has been regressive steps in youth justice, as well as a series of broken promises on steps to steps to make government services more accountable and funding.

"The [Closing the Gap] agreement is about recognising that we, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, know what is best for our own communities," Ms Turner said.

Arguing whilst "real progress has been made in areas like employment and early childhood education" and an acknowledgment ACCOs are best placed to support children in care, she said changes needed to be "systemic" as well as "long-term".

"There's important work still to do to make sure the rubber's hitting the road, funding is getting to communities, and governments are truly changing," Ms Turner said.

"For too long, governments had made laws and designed programs for us, not with us. There's been [a] tick-a-box consultation, if any at all."

Highlighting the recent announcement by the new NT government to lower the age of criminal responsibility to ten, as well as Victoria's backtrack of plans to raise the age to 14, Ms Turner said this was explicitly against evidence from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups that these decisions would disproportionately harm Indigenous children.

Furthermore, it goes against the national agreement to make policies with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities on policy-making that significantly impacts them.

"Imprisoning vulnerable children, many of whom have developmental delays that make their decision-making capacity that of seven- or eight-year-olds, flies in the face of what State and Territory Governments signed up to under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap," she said.

National Indigenous Times has reported on numerous Indigenous, human rights, medical and legal experts who have all argued for a raising of the age and criticised regressive steps in a number of Australian jurisdictions.

Ms Turner said the national agreement saw all Australian governments commit to establishing independent, Indigenous-led bodies to improve the way they work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the end of 2023.

To date, none of them have, she said, arguing it was time all governments "followed through" on their commitment.

"Their advice would not only highlight problems, but also identify where things are being done well and getting great outcomes for communities, and help to scale up those approaches," Ms Turner said.

On dedicated funding, she added: "Major national funding agreements must quarantine funds for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations, or we will simply see more of the same – money wasted on programs that aren't designed by us, and don't work for us."

Ms Turner also highlighted progress and said the announcement in September that mainstream out-of-home care (OOHC) providers - under the Allies for Children - would be handing the reins to ACCOs was important.

"We know that our young ones do better in the care of family and kin who can keep their links to culture and country alive," she said.

"And Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations are best placed to identify and support these carers."