Federal and territory government agencies divide the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

into different administrative regions, though their names and boundaries vary.

ABS regions

The federal Bureau of Statistics defines nine "level 3" statistical areas (SA3s) within the Territory.

Darwin metropolitan

Darwin city and suburbs, Palmerston 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 ( meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island, Bathurst I ...

, 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) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

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

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

and Daly.

East Arnhem

East Arnhem, centred on the town of

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...

, 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 Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

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 and the "

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek () is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the Northern Territory#Cities and towns, seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with ...

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 () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

region, apart from the town, is composed largely of desert. It is divided into a northern, Central Desert (main towns Ti-Tree, Yuendumu, 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 for the purposes of economic planning: * East Arnhem (also an LGA) *

Barkly Region The Barkly Region, formerly Barkly Shire, is a Local Government Areas of the Northern Territory, local government area of the Northern Territory of Australia, administered by the Barkly Regional Council. The region's main town is Tennant Creek ...

(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 ...

* 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 (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

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 (including West Arnhem) and East Arnhem.

References

{{Northern Territory