Malcolm Turnbull will lose one of his most influential hand-picked advisors on Indigenous affairs.

Key points: Chris Sarra resigned over potential conflicts of interest with new role in Queensland

Chris Sarra resigned over potential conflicts of interest with new role in Queensland "I like to operate from the highest ethical standards," he said

"I like to operate from the highest ethical standards," he said He says government ministers need to do more on Indigenous affairs

Indigenous leader and educator Chris Sarra has resigned as co-chair of the Prime Minister's Indigenous advisory council.

Professor Sarra told the ABC he had made the decision after sitting down with ministers in Queensland and the Commonwealth, where he had decided there would be a conflict of interest with his new government role in Queensland.

Professor Sarra was recently appointed as the head of Queensland's Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships.

The professor of education at the University of Canberra said he wants to change the policy approach of government in Queensland to empower Aboriginal communities.

"Originally I thought I might be able to do both roles but I sat down with the minister and I thought there would be too many conflicts," he said.

"I like to operate from the highest ethical standards."

Ministers 'could be doing better' on Indigenous issues

Professor Sarra said he was proud of what he had achieved providing advice to Mr Turnbull and "history" would look on this time as a game changer.

But his parting challenge to the Turnbull Government was that while he believed Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, was working hard, ministers in other portfolios needed to do more on Indigenous affairs and see it as their responsibility.

Chris Sarra said he's happy with what has been achieved during his time in the role. ( Supplied )

"We have a minister that works hard but he is doing tasks that should be done by other ministers who could be doing better," he said.

"I've been happy with what we've achieved.

"We shifted from the rhetoric of doing things to Indigenous people to a strength-based approach and doing things with people.

"I think we will look back at this as the moment where the Government began working with Indigenous people rather than a top down approach.

"While it's only words, it's caused the ministers and bureaucrats to have to think about what that means — we don't do Indigenous policy to Indigenous people, but with them now."

Engagement in Canberra an 'evolving process'

The Prime Minister's Indigenous advisory council has been meeting for two days in Canberra.

Professor Sarra said part of the focus of the meeting had been working on the process of constitutional reform.

He said be believed there had been a radical shift in engagement while he has been advising the Prime Minister, but ministers had to do more work.

"The engagement between the council and the Indigenous subcommittee of cabinet has been working," he said.

"The co-chairs have been able to go in and have meetings with the sub-cabinet. It's an evolving process, we will get better at it. It will allow for some tangible shifts now."

Professor Sarra said by making governments engage more directly with Indigenous Australians "charlatans" could no longer come in and tell the Government they had "all the answers".

"The challenge of doing things with people not to them means having to assume Indigenous people have a sense of agency and then actively embracing and engaging that capacity at a local level rather than sub-contracting those profoundly important relationships out to those gravy train charlatans," he said.