The Northern Territory government has confirmed it will cut youth hubs from Aboriginal town camps in Alice Springs, claiming they "aren't hitting the mark" as youth crime continues to plague the outback town.

The three hubs have been operated by Aboriginal-controlled organisation Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation since 2021 as part of a $2.3 million pilot program.

The council has come under fire in recent weeks for a range of alleged governance issues, including declining meetings and allegedly failing to deliver services adequately.

The organisation, which is paid tens of millions of dollars in government grants each year to help improve social issues in Alice Springs, has not released an annual report since 2018.

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler confirmed on Thursday that Tangentyere's youth hubs would be cut after a Territory Families evaluation found the program wasn't delivering.

"It showed that the young people weren't necessarily engaging," Ms Lawler said.

The ABC understands up to 30 roles could be impacted by the hub closures, with the possibility of redeployments or redundancies.

Tangentyere Council was contacted for comment but did not respond to the ABC.

Funds to be moved

The hubs were rolled out three years ago after a 24-hour youth outreach re-engagement team (YORET) hub in the CBD was scrapped, amid concerns it was attracting more young people to the streets in the early hours.

Ms Lawler rejected suggestions the current hubs had been abandoned due to recent criticism of Tangentyere Council, claiming they had been evaluated as part of the budget cycle.

"Let's be clear, Tangentyere also runs some very strong programs across Alice Springs," she said.

"It isn't about holus-bolus looking at Tangentyere overall.

"It is specifically looking at programs. Any agency that funds non-government organisations has to make sure they’re hitting the mark."

Ms Lawler indicated the funds would remain with Territory Families, but would be redirected to other areas "where they will make a difference", such as more youth workers on the streets at night.

"Having additional YORETs on the street until 3am, 4am … that has been making a difference," she said.

"So it is about moving those funds to where they hit the mark."

Money needs to be recommitted

Northern Territory Australian of the Year Blair McFarland, who was acknowledged for his work supporting young people and children across Central Australia, said it was a poor decision.

Mr McFarland warned that even if the funding was redirected, not enough was being done to address the bigger picture.

"I hope government starts putting energy into looking at the causes of the problems that we face and fixing those," he said.

Among the causes he said needed urgent support were housing and food security, especially in town camps.

"They're the two really basic things. If you haven't got those, you will forget about the rest," he said.

Yipirinya School principal Gavin Morris told the ABC he had intimate knowledge of how the youth services that had lost funding worked.

While he said the cuts were sad for Tangentyere, they weren't surprising.

"It's a sad day for all of our children and families in the town camps which surround Alice Springs. It's another example of what happens if you don't get service delivery right," he said.

While he also wanted to see the money reinvested into youth services, Dr Morris cautioned that the effectiveness of the funding needed to be clear.

"Every single dollar that you attract needs to be held to account," he said.

"At the moment, there's organisations, and Tangentyere is one, where there's clear gaps in terms of what's happening there."