Ms Edwards-Bott's centres, one in Lightning Ridge and the other in Brewarrina, have been given a small reprieve by the state government, which has provided $500,000 for a year, but nobody will sign the leases on the properties.

Other centres have been less lucky: 26 have no long-term guarantee of funding. Some had barely opened before funding was axed. Some had not moved into custom-built premises. Two out of the 38 have received nothing since the National Partnership Agreement, introduced three years ago, was cut in June 2014. Another 11 centres have been given some limited funding that will last between six months and two years.

"To say it is a mess is an understatement. To say that Aboriginal people feel betrayed is an understatement," said Frank Hytten, the chief executive of the Secretariat for National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC). "This is yet another betrayal by white fellas of Aboriginal people. Promises made and promises broken."

Many people were overlooking the centres' role as community-managed hubs.

"Lots of Aboriginal people don't like using mainstream services because the history has been that if they do, their children keep being taken away," Mr Hytten said.