Recognition of indigenous people in the constitution is set to "die on the vine" due to government inaction, Labor senator and indigenous leader Pat Dodson warns.
A number of bodies have worked on the issue, culminating in the Uluru statement five months ago which called for a First Nations advisory body and a legislated treaties commission.
Senator Dodson said he had been assured work was progressing, but he feared it would again be put in the too-hard basket.
"It will die on the vine basically," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.
"The hard work over 10 years or more ... that will all dissipate and go to nothing."
Now that Australia had a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council it had an even greater responsibility to progress reconciliation, Senator Dodson said.
"Indigenous people are very frustrated. Our issues and concerns go to the heart of the nation as well, they are not just about Aboriginal people - this is about Australia's identity and Australia's reputation internationally."
It added to the "disillusionment and hopelessness" stemming from social policies not delivering the outcomes people had hoped for.
Senator Dodson hoped the government would at least be able to show the direction of the process before parliament rose at the end of the year.
Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt said the prime minister was working closely on the issue with Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion and Attorney-General George Brandis.
"That issue hasn't gone away - government is still committed," Mr Wyatt told the National Press Club.
He said constitutional recognition was an important step, following on from the 1967 referendum, the apology to the Stolen Generations and annual Closing the Gap statements.
"Constitutional recognition will cement that tapestry of the way we work together," Mr Wyatt said.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Australia's election to the Human Rights Council would pressure the government to heed calls for constitutional reform.
"It's now up to the government and indeed the Labor Party to ensure we've got a process in place that puts decision-making for Aboriginal people in the hands of Aboriginal people," he told reporters in Canberra.
