The Northern Territory Government hosted the Indigenous Economic Development Summit in November 2001 and committed to holding three Forums aimed at exploring ways to achieve equitable economic outcomes for Indigenous Territorians.

The first Indigenous Economic Development (IED) Forum was held in Alice Springs in March 2003 and was attended by over 150 people. The Forum highlighted areas where positive economic progress is being made and addressed the requirements for IED in four key areas: (1) employment, education and training, (2) financial capacity and governance, (3) sustainable economic use of country, and (4) tourism and arts.

One of the outcomes of the 2003 Forum was the establishment of a high level taskforce - the Indigenous Economic Development Taskforce - to progress Indigenous economic development.

The IED Taskforce first met in February 2004 and has met a further four times since. IED Taskforce members come from across Australia and have a range of backgrounds and expertise in government, Indigenous organisations and private enterprise. Reflecting the importance of their role, the Taskforce is unique in that it reports direct to the NT Cabinet.