Apply for public housing
Public housing wait times
Wait times for public housing vary, depending on each applicant's circumstances.
They are affected by a number of factors such as:
- the general demand for public housing
- number of approved priority applications
- availability and turnover of suitable homes in each location.
Below are the estimated waiting times for urban public housing as of 31 December 2020.
| Region | 1 bedroom | 2 bedroom | 3 bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darwin/ Casuarina | 6 to 8 years | 2 to 4 years | 2 to 4 years |
| Palmerston | 6 to 8 years | Less than 2 years | Less than 2 years |
| Alice Springs | 4 to 6 years | 4 to 6 years | 6 to 8 years |
| Katherine | 6 to 8 years | 4 to 6 years | 4 to 6 years |
| Nhulunbuy | 4 to 6 years | 6 to 8 years | 4 to 6 years |
| Tennant Creek | 6 to 8 years | 6 to 8 years | 4 to 6 years |
Applications for public housing
If your application is successful, you will go on a wait list.
The wait list is produced in date order from when your application is received.
It includes general, priority and transfer applicants.
Below is the total number of current applications for urban public housing as of 31 December 2020.
This includes 584 transfer applicants (existing public housing tenants) and 1,544 priority applicants.
| Region | 1 bedroom | 2 bedroom | 3+ bedroom | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darwin/ Casuarina | 1464 | 339 | 306 | 2109 |
| Palmerston | 574 | 120 | 100 | 794 |
| Alice Springs | 578 | 324 | 398 | 1300 |
| Katherine | 271 | 102 | 103 | 476 |
| Nhulunbuy | 38 | 34 | 72 | 144 |
| Tennant Creek | 99 | 45 | 82 | 226 |
| Total | 3024 | 964 | 1061 | 5049 |
Public housing allocations
Allocations from the wait list are dependent on the availability of housing stock, which is generally linked to the number of tenancies leaving public housing.
The number of urban public housing allocations from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 is as shown below.
This includes 174 internal transfers and 423 new households allocated from the waitlist during this period.
| Region | 1 bedroom | 2 bedroom | 3+ bedroom | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darwin/ Casuarina | 74 | 70 | 127 | 271 |
| Palmerston | 53 | 57 | 70 | 180 |
| Alice Springs | 29 | 35 | 45 | 109 |
| Katherine | 9 | 3 | 15 | 27 |
| Nhulunbuy | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tennant Creek | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Total | 167 | 167 | 263 | 597 |
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Last updated: 05 March 2021
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