Political activist and writer Faith Bandler has died aged 96.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement that Australia had lost a champion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, while Opposition leader Bill Shorten said she would be remembered for her lifelong dedication and courage.

Born to a mother with Scottish and Indian heritage, and to a father who was kidnapped from an island in Vanuatu to work in the Queensland cane fields, Ms Bandler was born in Tumbulgum in northern New South Wales.

Originally named Ida Lessing Faith Mussing, she grew up on a farm on the New South Wales north coast and served in the women's land army during World War II, when she realised that although the land girls were underpaid, the Aboriginal farm workers were even worse off.

Their plight inspired her to help set up the Aboriginal Australian Fellowship with Pearl Gibbs, and the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

"I recall ... an Aboriginal woman coming and saying to me, 'you're not free if we're not free, now you get up and do something about it, give me a hand'," Ms Bandler said.

"That was the beginning."

As the well-spoken middle-class wife of a Jewish engineer, Ms Bandler was able to cross Australia's social boundaries, and addressed hundreds of meetings at churches, schools, clubs, trade unions and local councils.

She was at the forefront of the 1960s campaign to grant citizenship rights to Indigenous people, and her 10-year campaign culminated in the Yes vote in the historic 1967 referendum.

Sorry, this video has expired Social activist Faith Bandler dies, aged 96 ( Deborah Rice )

By the 1970s, the focus for Indigenous Australians turned to asserting a right to cultural difference, and as a non-indigenous Australian, Ms Badler was voted off the Council.

She turned to writing books and maintained an active political life, helping establish the Women's Electoral Lobby, the Australian South Sea Islanders National Council and the Australian republican movement.

She took up Indigenous issues again to speak out against the policies of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party and John Howard's government.

Among many other accolades, Ms Bandler was appointed a Companion in the Order of Australia in 2009 and was a recipient of the Human Rights Medal.

Tributes flow for civil rights campaigner

NSW Premier Mike Baird said in a statement that Ms Bandler dedicated her life to fighting for justice and her contribution to Australian society was immense.

New South Wales Opposition spokeswoman Linda Burney said Ms Bandler was an inspiration for all Australians.

"Faith, whom I knew, was just the most gracious powerful woman," she said.

"Who believed in decency and justice for everyone.

"And was so, so important to the 67 referendum.

"She was just a hero for everyone and particularly for aboriginal people in this country."

Indigenous leader Mick Dodson said Ms Bandler's legacy would continue as the nation looks to recognise the first Australians in the constitution.

"[What the 1967] campaign demonstrates is that you have to be pretty united to get a referendum through with that sort of success," said Mr Dodson.

"It's a difficult thing to change the Australian constitution and unless we're all on the same page, like they were in the 60s, the early 60s in the lead up to the 1967 referendum, we're not going to succeed."

Mr Dodson said her contribution to social justice should not be underestimated.

"She was an advocate for fairness and justice," he said.

"Her dedication to the 1967 referendum and the campaign leading up to that was gigantic.

"Her compassion and love for people drove her on."

A state funeral will be held for Ms Bandler in recognition of her service to the country.

