Aboriginal Tasmanians will argue for a compensation deal as part of a national treaty at a historic meeting on constitutional recognition at Uluru.

Twelve Indigenous delegations from across Australia will present their positions at a major convention in Central Australia this week.

The aim is to discuss a proposal for a potential referendum to acknowledge Indigenous history in the constitution, and to potentially introduce other reforms.

Tasmanian writer and activist Michael Mansell sees the Uluru summit as a crucial platform to press for bold reforms.

He believes the Federal Government should consider an agreement on returning land and paying compensation to Aboriginal people at 3 per cent of GDP.

"It is very rare for this sort of a gathering to take place," he said.

"The onus will be on the Aboriginal representatives who are there to come up with the goods. If we don't, we will have failed our own people."

Mr Mansell said a referendum to "recognise" Indigenous people in the constitution did not have the potential to deliver economic empowerment.

"Why are we mucking around with gestures when the Aboriginal people of Australia — when you look around at our communities — they are destitute, many people are landless," he said.

The Tasmanian delegation will instead push for a treaty to deliver:

A land settlement

A land settlement A national Aboriginal body with legislative powers, its own guaranteed budget and exclusive authority to determine priorities for Aboriginal programs

A national Aboriginal body with legislative powers, its own guaranteed budget and exclusive authority to determine priorities for Aboriginal programs Designated seats in Parliament

Designated seats in Parliament 3 per cent of GDP for compensation to Aboriginal people for the last 200 years

Recognition doesn't provide 'practical benefits'

Mr Mansell said compensation would "get rid of the bureaucracy that's soaking up a lot of the money".

"At the moment we go cap in hand to the departments every year, begging them for money," he said.

"There should be 2 or 3 per cent of the GDP set aside for Aboriginal people."

The Referendum Council held a meeting at Risdon Cove, north of Hobart. ( ABC News: Rhiannon Shine )

The ABC understands that delegations from Victoria and south-west Western Australia will also make statements about the need for a treaty.

Mr Mansell said he believed recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in state constitutions had proved meaningless.

"There's been not a single practical benefit that has flowed to Aboriginal people as a result," he said.

"I can't see why we need recognition — we know who we are."

The South Australian and Victorian governments are in early treaty negotiations with Aboriginal people in those states.

The Referendum Council will report back to the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader with its recommendations after the convention at Uluru.

Aboriginal communities 'disengaged' from Referendum Council

While hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are travelling to Uluru for the talks, others feel left out.

Fiona Hamilton, who is part of an alliance of regional Tasmanian Aboriginal groups, said the government-appointed Referendum Council did not consult widely enough.

"The Referendum Council needs to take responsibility for the fact that regional Aboriginal communities by and large are completely disengaged from their process and it's unacceptable," she said.

"The Referendum Council, we feel, has really cherry picked this."

Fiona Hamilton says many communities feel disengaged from the referendum process. ( ABC News: Rhiannon Shine )

In a statement, a Referendum Council spokeswoman said the council "regrets if its approach has led to anyone feeling excluded and hopes they sought other opportunities to share their views".

Ms Hamilton said she did not accept the council's apology.

"They need to take accountability for the fact that they have disenfranchised a whole heap of Tasmanian Aboriginal people and a whole heap of Aboriginal people around the country who deserve to have a seat at the table and who haven't been offered one," she said.

Referendum must 'convince all Australians'

The Uluru delegates will try to reach a united position on whether a referendum is needed, and what it might look like.

While there is bipartisan support to acknowledge 60,000 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history in the constitution, that idea on its own is highly unlikely to win approval at Uluru.

At community meetings held over the past six months, some have called for the establishment of a First Nations body to advise the Parliament.

Others want a guarantee that a provision will inserted into the constitution prohibiting racial discrimination.

Ken Wyatt says the referendum must be accepted by all Australians. ( AAP: David Moir )

Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt said he would like to see a proposal that had the best chance of a yes vote at a referendum.

"People come with different passions, and their passions and their views can sometimes overtake what is logical to convince all Australians," he said.

"Constitutional propositions are not readily accepted by Australians — we can see that with the low level of success for referenda."

Mark Yettica-Paulson, joint campaign director for the awareness campaign Recognise, said his organisation had done crucial work to educate people about the constitution.

"We do have 300,000 supporters," he said.

"We have a database that has been able to ignite the imagination of many, many Australians."

He said a vast number of Australians "no longer want to be the people who deny the presence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people".

The Referendum Council's Noel Pearson is warning against taking a timid proposal to a vote.

"Being cynical about what the people of Australia are prepared to do will be our biggest mistake," he said.