Northern Territory Defence

Economic contribution | Personnel | Housing | Bases and sites | Further information | Explanatory notes

The NT is in an important part the Indo-Pacific region from an economic and regional stability standpoint, making it a strategic location for defence. With a significant navy, army and air force presence in the NT, defence continues to be a consistent contributor to economic activity, providing stimulus to local businesses and supporting regional employment.

The 2024 National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Program provides an update to Australia’s national security outlook and investment priorities.

Personnel

• The number of defence personnel located in the NT increased by 1.2% to 5,420 persons in 2023-24 (including permanent personnel, reservists and Department of Defence civilians)
• Of the 5,420 defence personnel, 3,364 are in the army, 1098 are in the air force, 733 are in the navy, and 225 are Department of Defence civilians (Chart 1)
• Permanent forces make up 77% of defence personnel in the NT
• The NT’s share of Australia’s defence personnel decreased 0.1 percentage points to 4.9%

Housing

• Defence Housing Australia (DHA) managed 1,706 properties in the NT in 2023-24, to accommodate personnel working at a number of Defence bases, including RAAF Base Darwin, Larrakeyah Barracks and RAAF Base Tindal (Chart 2).
• This reflects 0.4% increase in total stock compared to the previous year, and below the average of the previous 10 years (1,992 properties)
• About 78% of DHA properties are located in Darwin, with the remainder in Tindal and Alice Springs
• The NT accounted for 10% of all DHA properties across Australia

Bases and sites

All three ADF services (navy, army and air force ) have multiple northern Australia bases. In the NT, the navy is based at HMAS Coonawarra, the army operates from Larrakeyah Barracks and Robertson Barracks, and the air force has RAAF base Darwin and RAAF base Tindal (Map 1).

Map 1: Major defence sites in the NT¹

1  This map is produced from various sources. Department of Treasury and Finance cannot guarantee the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the information. To be used as a guide only.
Source: Department of Treasury and Finance; DefenceNT; Department of Trade, Business and Innovation

Further information

• For information about the 2024 National Defence Strategy and 2024 Integrated Investment Program, please refer to the Commonwealth’s Department of Defence website.
• DefenceNT is the Northern Territory Government’s primary office for engaging with matters of defence, national security and veterans’ affairs and also provides useful information and sources for defence and related industries.

Explanatory notes

• The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) does not classify defence as a separate industry for reporting purposes in the national accounts, however it is reported against a number of industries and is predominantly included in the ‘public administration and safety’ industry. Defence personnel numbers are also excluded from the ABS labour force statistics, for reporting purposes.
• References to defence refer to the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force (ADF), collectively. Data for defence personnel and housing is sourced from the Department of Defence and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) annual reports.