Australia's Aboriginal affairs ministers have agreed to focus more on the positives of Indigenous achievement under a sweeping "refresh" of the Closing the Gap strategy.

The move to overhaul the Council of Australian Governments-backed plan has been welcomed by the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, which said the steps being taken were "historic" and cause for optimism.

Federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, speaks to Local Elder Uncle Moogi at the Kornar Winmil Yunti Aboriginal Corporation in Adelaide. Credit:AAP

The shift amounts to an admission by Australia's governments that the existing work to close gaps between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across education, employment and health have failed since they were introduced almost a decade ago.

In a meeting hosted by federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion in Canberra on Monday, the ministers "agreed on the importance of moving to a strength-based approach to Closing the Gap that celebrates Indigenous achievement as well as addressing persistent disadvantage," according to a joint communique from the COAG ministerial council.