Federal and territory government agencies divide the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

into different administrative regions of the Northern Territory, though the names and boundaries vary.

ABS regions

The federal

Bureau of Statistics The following is a list of national and international statistical services. Central national statistical services Nearly every country in the world has set a central public sector unit entirely devoted to the production, harmonisation and dissemin ...

defines nine "level 3" statistical areas (SA3s) within the Territory.

Darwin metropolitan

Darwin city and suburbs,

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...

and Litchfield – make up the Darwin metropolitan area and together account for more than half the Territory's population.

Daly–Tiwi–West Arnhem

The Daly–Tiwi–West Arnhem statistical area surrounds metropolitan Darwin on all sides and is made up of four regional councils:

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, w ...

, West Daly, part of the Victoria Daly Region and West Arnhem. The region is predominantly tropical

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

. Daly–Tiwi–West Arnhem is represented in the Territory's Legislative Assembly by the members for Arafura,

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

and Daly.

East Arnhem

East Arnhem, centred on the town of

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a township that is the sixth largest population centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Nhulunbuy was created on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and a deep water port were establishe ...

, is a level-3 statistical region, local government region and tourism region. East Arnhem is represented in the Legislative Assembly by the member for

. The region is predominantly tropical savannah.

Katherine

The Katherine region is centred on the outback town of

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

and forms one of the Territory's tourism regions. The region is predominantly tropical savannah and semi-arid land. For local government purposes, it is further divided into the southern Victoria Daly and Roper Gulf regions. The Katherine region is represented in the Legislative Assembly by the members for Barkly,

and Stuart.

Barkly

The Barkly local government region is roughly coterminous with the

Barkly Tableland The Barkly Tableland is a rolling plain of grassland in Australia. It runs from the eastern part of the Northern Territory into western Queensland. It is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory and covers , 21% of the Northern Terr ...

and the "

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termi ...

and surrounds" tourist region. The region is predominantly tropical savannah and semi-arid land. The Barkly region is represented in the Legislative Assembly by the member for Barkly.

Alice Springs

The

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...

region, apart from the town, is composed largely of desert. It is divided into a northern,

Central Desert The deserts of Australia or the Australian deserts cover about , or 18% of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is practically desert. Collectively known as the Great Australian desert, th ...

(main towns Ti-Tree,

Yuendumu Yuendumu is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia, northwest of Alice Springs on the Tanami Road, within the Central Desert Region local government area. It ranks as one of the larger remote communities in central Australia, and has a ...

, and Lajamanu, with Alice Springs a separate LGA), and a southern, MacDonnell Ranges region. The Alice Springs region is represented in the Legislative Assembly by the members for Araluen, Braitling, Namatjira and Stuart.

Economic planning regions

There are six regions defined by the

Northern Territory Government The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, is the Australian territorial democratic administrative authority of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory wa ...

for the purposes of economic planning: * East Arnhem (also an LGA) *

Barkly Region The Barkly Region, formerly Barkly Shire, is a local government area of the Northern Territory of Australia, administered by the Barkly Regional Council. The region's main town is Tennant Creek. The region covers an area of and had a populati ...

(also an LGA) * Big Rivers Region *

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

* Darwin, Palmerston & Litchfield

Tourism

For tourism purposes, the Alice Springs area is grouped into a single region centred on the town, with a smaller

Uluru Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the Northern Territory, southwest of Alice Spring ...

region excised in the south-west.

Red Centre

The region around Alice Springs is often referred to informally as the " Red Centre", after the colour of the soil.

Top End

Metropolitan Darwin, Daly–Tiwi–West Arnhem and East Arnhem are sometimes grouped informally as the "

", although this term is often loosely applied. For tourism purposes, the Top End is then divided into Darwin (including the Tiwi Islands),

Kakadu National Park Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded liv ...

(including West Arnhem) and East Arnhem.

References

{{Northern Territory