Ms Gillard says closing the gap remains a priority for the government, which has set a range of aspirational targets.
The government has allocated more than $4 billion to reach those targets.
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"Change happens piece by piece. Then when you do the full set of statistics or all indigenous Australians, obviously for that full set of statistics, people are going to think can't we speed this up," she told the National Press Club on Thursday.
Ms Gillard said for her this came back to achieving a good start at school, acquiring skills and making a transition from school into the first rungs of work.
"If a young indigenous person doesn't come out of school reading and writing and too many don't, if they miss the first step on that journey into the workplace, into an apprenticeship where they need to go next, if they end up therefore on welfare with the sort of corrosive effects that come from that aimlessness, it can be a long, long, long way back," Ms Gillard said.
