Hope Vale mayor Greg McLean is facing suspension after legislation giving Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe greater powers over councils passed state parliament this week.

McLean was charged with fraud by the Crime and Corruption Commission in 2015, accused of receiving four payments worth a total of more than $58,000 from a council-owned entity.

His matter is before the courts but he told the ABC on Friday he has received no indication he would be removed.

Gerhardt Pearson, of the Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation, stopped short of calling for indigenous councils being exempt from the laws.

But he said their complex issues - which put pressure on councils, including a lack of funding - should be taken into account.

"Those naughty councils doing the wrong thing down south, of course the government needs to be able to act," Mr Pearson told AAP.

"But I would argue our indigenous councils are doing a very good job under difficult circumstances and there is insufficient support by way of funding."

He said mainstreaming of Aboriginal and Torres Strait shires without their ability to charge rates due to communal land ownership made their circumstances difficult.

"The shire councils are expected to conduct normal local government functions," he said.

"But they don't have a rateable base like Cairns City Council, Brisbane City Council. They're wholly dependent on state and Commonwealth governments.

"They don't have sufficient resources to even employ engineers, town planners.

"That's what every local government has at their fingertips. Of course when councils make decisions without expertise, there will be some jumping up and down."

Mr Pearson said corruption among Cape York indigenous councils was rare.

Two Queensland mayors - Logan's Luke Smith and Andrew Antoniolli from Ipswich - will be immediately suspended by Mr Hinchliffe when new laws take effect next week.

Smith is fighting corruption and perjury charges, and Antoniolli has been accused of fraud.

Australian Associated Press