The call comes on National Close the Gap Day.
The co-chair of the Close the Gap committe, Mick Gooda, has been joined by Reconciliation Australia and Oxfam in calling for more-effective coordination between the states and territories and the federal government.
Mr Gooda says the Close the Gap campaign has received broad political support, but that tangible results will take time to eventuate.
"We think there's a time-lag. You can't just throw $1.6 billion at an issue and think you're going to get immediate results.
"I've been saying, probably next year is when we can expect to see improvements. For instance, it took a while before the anti-smoking campaign started to bite. Now we're seeing a reduction in smoking rates within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community."
Watch: Melbourne's Close the Gap concentrate on health, NITV reports
Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion has told the Senate the federal government's already making progress closing the gap on disadvantage.
"Under the remote school attendence strategy the government is providing $28.4 million for 400 Aboriginal school attendence officers covering forty communities.
"Compared to last year there are already over 600 more children attending then there were at that stage. I acknowledge it's early days but in one school term we have started to narrow that gap."
Watch: Close the Gap Campaign co-chair discusses progress, NITV reports
