Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution has to be done right or it will be put on hold for decades,
Speaking at the National Reconciliation Breakfast in Perth on Friday, Mr Wyatt said the government remained committed to constitutional recognition, but it would be a long process.
"We want to get it right," Mr Wyatt said.
"If we don't, we risk putting this issue on hold for another 30 or 40 years."
Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt says constitutional recognition will be a long process. Source: AAP
He said work would continue with Indigenous communities to design a model for the change and a referendum would then be held.
"I don't want to rush because like the republican referendum, when it was lost, the issue went dead," Mr Wyatt told 6PR radio.
"This is too important for it to fail."
He also reaffirmed the government's commitment to establish a National Resting Place for ancestral remains that were removed from country and placed in museums, universities and private collections in Australia and overseas for more than 150 years.
Establishing the resting place in Canberra was a recommendation in a bipartisan report in November that followed an inquiry into enshrining an Indigenous voice in the constitution.
Member for Hasluck Ken Wyatt is sworn in as the as Minister for Indigenous Australians by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove Source: AAP
"The National Resting Place will be a central place for commemoration, reflection and healing," Mr Wyatt told the breakfast event.
"A place for ancestral remains to rest in honour and peace, where all Australians can celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures."
and said he was emotional when Prime Minister Scott Morrison phoned to offer him the role.
