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 Defence Strategic Review 2023 reinforced the importance of the Territory to Australia’s national security. This is being supported by the investment of $3.8 billion in northern bases over the next four years.

Economic contribution

Direct expenditure

• Defence expenditure in the NT decreased by 1.4% to $2.8 billion in 2022-23 (Chart 1)
• The decrease compared to the previous year reflects a decrease in investment spending, partly offset by an increase in operational expenses
• Defence expenditure accounted for 9.0% of the NT’s gross state product (GSP) in 2022-23, compared to 2.3% nationally
• Defence expenditure in the NT as a proportion of total national defence expenditure represented 5.0% in 2022-23

Personnel

• The number of defence personnel located in the NT decreased by 0.7% to 5,358 persons in 2022-23 (including permanent personnel, reservists and Department of Defence civilians)
• Of the 5,358 defence personnel, 3,319 are in the army, 1058 are in the air force, 762 are in the navy, and 219 are Department of Defence civilians (Chart 3)
• Permanent forces make up 78.0% of defence personnel in the NT
• In line with the decrease in NT defence personnel in 2022-23, the NT’s share of Australia’s defence personnel decreased 0.1 percentage points to 5.0%

Housing

• Defence Housing Australia (DHA) managed 1,710 properties in the NT in 2021-22, to accommodate personnel working at a number of Defence bases, including RAAF Base Darwin, Larrakeyah Barracks and RAAF Base Tindal.
• This reflects 2.1% decrease in total stock compared to the previous year, and below the average of the previous 10 years (2,078 properties)
• About 78% of DHA properties are located in Darwin, with the remainder in Tindal and Alice Springs
• The NT accounted for 10.1% of all DHA properties across Australia
• DHA projects in the NT currently under way or expected to commence in the coming years include:
  • Development of the former Lee Point Radar Station, which is expected to result in about 800 residential lots, of which 30% will be allocated for defence members.

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 Defence Strategic Review 2023, please refer to the Commonwealth’s Department of Defence website.
• DefenceNT also provides useful information and sources to defence and related industries, including defence bases, training and exercises in the NT, and information about the 2018 Northern Territory Defence and National Security Strategy.
• Defence largely contributes to economic and employment activity though capital projects, with detailed information available in the annual reports published on the Department of Defence website.

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.