The comments come after more than 100 legal, health, disability and human rights organisations signed an open letter to federal Attorney-General Christian Porter and his Opposition counterpart Mark Dreyfus, citing a primary recommendation of a recent review to keep the program separate.

Tasmanian Aboriginal Community Legal Centre state manager and principal solicitor Hamish Locke said the organisation - which provides assistance in criminal, family, child safety, and family violence law, along with some minor civil matters - said there was a "real concern" with the change.

Itself funded under the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program in a five-year round ending in July 2020, Mr Locke said its mainstreaming would quarantine funding for two years, though there was no commitment to fund Aboriginal controlled organisations beyond then.

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"The funding could then be open to tender, risking the funding go to non-Aboriginal organisations to provide these services," he added.

"A stand alone ILAP program guarantees Aboriginal legal needs are met by Aboriginal controlled organisations. These organisations are best placed to understand and meet the legal needs of Aboriginal people and their communities.

Community Legal Centre Tasmania and Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation were also among the letter's signatories.

"While [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations] are becoming increasingly familiar with governments promising one thing, then doing another, this is a surprising and disappointing move," the letter states.

"We call on the next government to urgently overturn this decision to abandon ILAP and instead retain a standalone Commonwealth program that supports the ATSILS and the communities they serve."

In the lead up to its publication, the Australian Labor Party and Australian Greens committed to retaining the program.

An independent review into ILAP, prepared for the Attorney-General's Department and finalised in February, recommended retaining the standalone program and amending its aims and objectives to promote self-determination.

Mr Porter said funding through the national mechanism would "not substantially change the underlying landscape of the legal assistance sector", which would maintain the authority for service provision based on local knowledge and needs as a community controlled organisation.

"As part of the Budget, there has been an overall increase of [indexed] funding to $369.6 million," he added.

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