Northern Territory Election 2020
The Northern Territory has the highest rates of homelessness in Australia, at 6% of our population. We know that additional housing is necessary to address homelessness, and that affordable, appropriate housing provides people with the security and stability to live healthier lives, do well in school, get a job, and join in the social life of their community.
We’re asking candidates at this year’s Territory election to commit to a number of key measures that will provide more Territorians with pathways out of homelessness and into a home.
What the parties have committed to
Below is our scorecard, outlining responses from the major parties to our election asks. For more detailed responses from the parties and candidates, see here.
1. INCREASE FUNDING TO HOMELESSNESS SERVICES
 |  |  | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WILL YOU INCREASE FUNDING TO HOMELESSNESS SERVICES TO MEET THE CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS OF VULNERABLE TERRITORIANS? |  |  | | |
| Step-up the NT Government contribution to the Specialist Homelessness Sector by $2.5 million each year | |  | See response | |
| Secure a fairer funding deal for the NT by pressing the other States and the Commonwealth for a reset of national partnership funding allocations according to need rather than population share | | | | |
| Design, fund and evaluate a pilot program for 24/7 homeless client intake and care | | | | |
2. COMMIT TO CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN REMOTE HOUSING
| | | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WILL YOU COMMIT TO CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN REMOTE HOUSING ACROSS THE BUDGET FORWARD ESTIMATES AT A RATE NOT LESS THAN $150 MILLION PER YEAR (NT CONTRIBUTION), INCLUDING LOCAL DECISION MAKING? | In part - see response | | | |
| Report annually on net new housing stock by community (#houses, #rooms) | | | | |
| Transition to Traditional Owner/community engagement and control over housing delivery as per needs set out by ACCOs, Land Councils and local communities | See response | | See response | |
| Program evaluation to be conducted every two years to ensure value for money and achievement of program objectives | | | | |
3. COMMIT TO A NET ADDITIONAL SUPPLY OF 250 HOMES PER YEAR
| | | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WILL YOU COMMIT TO A NET ADDITIONAL SUPPLY OF 250 URBAN SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOMES PER YEAR FOR FOUR YEARS = 1,000 IN TOTAL? | | | See response | |
| Press for a national strategy with Commonwealth contributions that accelerates the supply of social and affordable housing post COVID-19 | | | See response | |
| Provide Community Housing Providers (CHPs) with title to land, stock (title) transfers at scale and 20-year head leasing arrangements. One half of net new supply to be owned and managed by registered CHPs | See response | | In part - see response | |
| Invest in building the capacity of Aboriginal community controlled housing providers - urban, regional and remote | | | | |
| Complete the remaining spend on the $100 Million Public Housing Stimulus program in 2020-21 ($21.6 million outstanding) | | | | |
| Publish plans for new build commitments by region on a rolling four year basis | | | | |
4. DELIVER ENOUGH ACCOMMODATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET ROUGH SLEEPER NEEDS
| | | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WILL YOU COMMIT TO DELIVERING ENOUGH ACCOMMODATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET ROUGH SLEEPER NEEDS ACROSS URBAN COMMUNITIES, FOR BOTH ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY VISITORS AND LOCAL HOMELESS POPULATIONS? | | | | |
| Short-stay visitor accommodation established in Katherine - work to commence in 2020-21 | Seeking clarification | | | |
| Regional responses to tackle local priority areas - Alice Springs youth homelessness and Tennant Creek emergency accommodation | See response | | | |
| Finalise partnership with the Australian Government to deliver $10 million fit-for-purpose short-stay accommodation for Darwin | | | | |
ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS FROM THE PARTIES:
| | | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS FROM THE PARTIES | ||||
| Create a Housing and Homelessness Support Working Group to target early and coordinated intervention | | |||
| Conduct an evaluation of current government strategies | | |||
| Shared Equity Fund to help Territorians into the property market | | |||
| Establish a homeless and housing support innovation fund that will enable new ideas to be tested in the Territory | |
For more detailed information on party and candidate responses, please visit this page.
A resource on how you can support and engage with our work is available here.
What we're asking for
To download a pdf version of NT Shelter’s four Election Asks, click here.
6% of all people in the NT are experiencing homelessness.
81% of Territorians defined as homeless in the NT live in severely crowded dwellings.
Wait lists for public housing can be up to 8 years long in some parts of the NT.
48.6% of Territorians experiencing homelessness are under the age of 25.