The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) has welcomed new funding for Indigenous health research, but says the money should have been allocated to health services.

The Federal Government will make $7 million available to fund studies aimed at improving maternal, infant and childhood health.

But Rachel Atkinson from the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Forum says the money would be better spent providing services to communities.

"We know the problem. We live with the problem," she said.

"The community knows the problem. The research component to it is once again going to tell us what we already know.

"Research is good at this end, but at the moment, inject these dollars into services on the ground."