Indigenous service providers ask for $14b

Indigenous service providers want $14 billion from taxpayers for projects over the next four years, six times more than is left in kitty.

The Abbott government allocated $4.8 billion for the first funding round of its new indigenous advancement strategy.

But a large portion of that amount was committed before the application process, leaving just $2.3 billion up for grabs.

For that pool, it received 2472 applications covering 4948 projects.

However, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet says five applicants applied for a total of $5 billion, while the next highest 10 requests totalled about $3 billion.

Successful providers aren't necessarily provided with the funding they request.

Almost half the applications were non-compliant, but the department assessed them all due to the infancy of the program.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion will sign off on departmental recommendations in March.