A senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) representative claims corruption and bribery are widespread throughout indigenous communities, but nothing is being done to stop it.

South Australia Zone Commissioner, Brian Butler, is calling for zero-tolerance on fraud and corruption, saying more must be done to protect in Aboriginal communities from unscrupulous people in positions of authority.

The matter is being discussed at an ATSIC policy conference in Canberra this week.

Mr Butler says so far the issue has been swept under the carpet.

"There seems to be a band of people out there who go from one Aboriginal community to another just ripping them off," Mr Butler said.

"Everyone's talking about it, everybody knows about it, but nobody does anything about it," he said.