National Indigenous Australians Agency chief executive Jody Broun has announced she will be stepping down from her role on Friday 29 August.

In a statement on Monday, Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy thanked Ms Broun for her leadership of the Agency and for helping "to guide this important organisation through a period of positive change".

Senator McCarthy said Ms Broun, a proud Yinjibarndi woman from Western Australia's Pilbara region, has "championed reforming the way government does business with Indigenous Australians, advocating for genuine partnership approaches, community led co-design and self determination to bring about better outcomes for First Nations people".

"She has been instrumental in developing national policy reforms including replacing the Community Development Program, establishing the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme and expanding the Indigenous Rangers Program," the Minister said.

One of the National Indigenous Australians Agency's responsibilities is the management and monitoring of Indigenous employment and procurement requirements for federal contracts.

In June, Indigenous leaders and business figures raised serious concerns over the revelation an audit of federal contracts found Indigenous employment rules were dropped in two thirds of cases, translating to $70 billion worth of contracts not being required to meet the minimum number of Indigenous staff hired or use Indigenous businesses.

At the time, federal spokesperson for Indigeous Australians, Kerrynne Liddle, told National Indigenous Times: "For transparency it is also important for the NIAA to reveal the impact of any exemption. According to the Australian National Audit Office, only one in five contracts is monitored for compliance and of those only a quarter are compliant. It is simply not good enough."

Senator Lidia Thorpe told National Indigenous Times: "We keep hearing that funding is going to First Peoples — but whether it's these contracts or money flowing through the NIAA, we see massive problems with misallocation. We must ensure these procurement rules are strengthened and are administered transparently."

Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network chief executive Naomi Anstess said the findings of the Audit Office investigation were "concerning and highlight a critical gap between the intent of the Indigenous Procurement Policy and its implementation in practice".

A federal government spokesperson told National Indigenous Times at the time that in "implementing recommendations from the recent ANAO report and in conjunction with announced IPP reforms, the National Indigenous Australians Agency is working to develop stronger processes for government agencies and Indigenous businesses looking to tender for procurement contracts".

Senator McCarthy said Ms Broun's leadership included negotiations with state and territory governments on the National Strategy for Food Security in Remote First Nations communities and the Central Australia Plan.

"Ms Broun has focused on strengthening the integrity of our investments through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, establishing the Integrity Group of the NIAA in 2023. She has shifted the balance of a third of her staff being outside Canberra to now more than half, with a greater focus on remote Australia," she said.

The federal government will begin a process to fill the position of NIAA chief executive in the coming weeks.