A report has slammed Queensland’s youth justice system.

The head of Queensland's Family and Child Commission (QFCC) says the high number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in jail is an indictment on the system.

In 2019, the Queensland Government requested a report to monitor reforms being implemented under the Youth Justice Strategy 2019-23.

That report has now been completed, and reveals that while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children account for just 7 per cent of the total population of 10 to 17-year-olds in Queensland, they made up 45 per cent of young offenders in 2018-19.

In the same year, Indigenous young people accounted for 71 per cent of detainees in two Queensland youth detention centres.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are grossly overrepresented and that is an indictment on the system,” QFCC principal commissioner Cheryl Vardon says.

“That's a huge impact on our work and where we need to direct our work.

“It's very important that the community is consulted on this and that community has a voice, and that they're able to come up with solutions like different court systems for example, services from an early age, an understanding of rights and responsibilities.

“But importantly, young people need that one-on-one support and someone around who knows what happened to them yesterday, who's around for them today and who is interested in their future.”

The report found Indigenous communities and families have limited opportunities to shape program design or the use of funds for initiatives intended for them.

Ms Vardon says there needs to be more investment in early intervention and prevention.

“There needs to be a shift away from a criminal focus to prevention, and we will be briefing the government and non-government agencies about these findings and proposed future directions,” she said.

“We looked at initiatives designed to keep children out of court and custody, and in assessing impacts on children's rights we believe some are being neglected.”

The report found that a history of making legislation and policy changes in response to particular incidents does not help the system to achieve its intended outcomes.

The QFCC's report was commissioned before the Queensland Parliament passed new legislation that is tougher on young offenders earlier this year, so those reforms were not examined.

In April, the Queensland Government introduced new legislation that allows a trial of GPS monitoring devices, strengthened anti-hooning laws, increased police powers and reversing the presumption of bail for serious indictable offences.