Referendum must be worth vote: Shorten

Any constitutional change to recognise indigenous Australians must drive real progress and improve their lot, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has indicated he is prepared to delay a promised referendum on the issue until after the next election to maximise its chances of success.

And he has warned that moves to turn it into a de facto bill of rights would doom it to failure.

Mr Shorten says he does not support the push for a bill of rights but "we shouldn't surrender to the tyranny of low expectations either".

He also said there must be bipartisanship to guarantee the question being put will be worth voting on.

"I think Australia is smart and generous and clever enough to come up with a question that Liberal and Labor can agree on, and that Aboriginal people find to be satisfactory and will improve their lot," he told reporters on Sunday.

"And that's the test we set, that it's real change and not token change."

A joint select committee has been accepting submissions and holding public hearings on a referendum on Indigenous Constitutional Recognition.

The closing date for submissions is October 30 2014.