Safety and antisocial behaviour in public housing

Public housing safety officers (PHSOs) patrol social housing properties and complexes across Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs to ensure the safety of social housing tenants, neighbours and communities.

Officers work in collaboration with NT Police, government agencies and with support organisations to identify and respond to areas of risk.

Public housing safety officers:

• are dispatched by NT Police to respond to 131 444 calls that involve antisocial behaviour at social housing complexes
• patrol social housing properties and complexes
• investigate complaints about anti-social behaviour at social housing properties.

Officer powers

Under the Housing Act 1982, PHSOs can:

• ask tenants to stop antisocial behaviour
• ask visitors to leave social housing
• ban people for up to 12 months from being in social housing
• tip out alcohol that is open or in alcohol-restricted areas
• seize unopened alcohol and dangerous items
• enter the yard of a social housing property without giving notice
• ask a person on social housing property to give evidence of their name and address

For more information, read the Housing Act 1982.

Identifying an officer

Officers drive vehicles marked 'public housing safety'.

They wear a uniform and carry an identification card that states they are a PHSO appointed under the Housing Act.

Body worn video (BWV) cameras are also a standard part of PHSO equipment. Read more about officers' BWV cameras.

Antisocial behaviour includes any of the following:

• abusive or violent behaviour towards another person
• creating alarm, fear or annoyance to neighbours or others in the area
• graffiti, littering or vandalism.

For immediate emergencies, call NT Police on 000.

Read more about emergencies and calling 000.

For antisocial behaviour, call NT Police on 131 444. They will dispatch police officers or PHSOs if appropriate.

Reporting of domestic, family and sexual violence is mandatory in the NT. Call the NT Police to report or make an online police report.

Reporting of child welfare is mandatory in the NT. Call 1800 700 250 or do it online via CARE Services

Any suspected criminal activity should be reported to the NT Police, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

To assist investigations, please provide evidence of antisocial behaviour. This can include the testimony of a witness, CCTV footage or other corroborating evidence, such as a police report.

Properties managed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Community Development

You can report antisocial behaviour in multiple ways.

Phone

We operate a 24/7 housing complaints line on 1800 685 743.

Tenants and the community are encouraged to reach out to report concerns relating to public housing properties.

Email

You can email the Public Housing Safety team at publichousingsafety@nt.gov.au.  

Reporting to the department by phone or email will not dispatch a PHSO. PHSOs are only dispatched by calling NT Police on 131 444.

In person

You can speak to someone at the counter of your local housing office.

Online

Fill in the online antisocial behaviour complaint form.

You have the option to remain anonymous. However, if you do choose to remain anonymous, the department may not be able to investigate or prove your complaint.

For more information about what is considered acceptable behaviour, read Are you being affected by antisocial behaviour?.

Properties managed by a community housing provider

You can report the incident directly to the community housing provider (CHP) managing the tenancy. This enables the landlord to investigate the report and follow up as necessary with the tenant to prevent further occurrences of antisocial behaviour.

If you are unsure which CHP manages a property, contact the department on 1800 685 743.

Tenants have responsibilities when they live in social housing.

Maintenance

As a tenant, you must maintain your home by doing regular work like looking after the garden and general cleaning.

It is also your responsibility to pay for repairs or replacement for any damage that you have caused, either deliberately or from neglect.

You are responsible for damage caused by visitors to your property.

Visitors

The number of visitors you can invite to stay depends on the number of people living in your house and the number of bedrooms you have.

Visitors can stay for up to 14 days. If you want a visitor to stay longer, you must apply for permission from your local housing office.

You are responsible for the behaviour of visitors. You must ensure they respect the property and do not disturb other social housing tenants, your neighbours and community with antisocial behaviour.

If you have unwelcome visitors, you can tell people they need to leave, or ask Police or PHSOs to do it for you.

If you are worried about friends of relatives causing trouble while drinking in your home, or you are worried about antisocial behaviour caused by alcohol, you can apply to have your home declared alcohol-free. Read more on how to get alcohol banned in your premises.

If you don’t meet your tenancy obligations, you may not be allowed to stay at your house.

For more information, read about Visitor Management and our Urban visitor management policy.

Reporting

You must report all property damage to keep your family safe. To get property damage fixed, you can call your local maintenance team on 1800 104 076.

For more information, read Damage to Your Public Housing Home and Repairs and Maintenance.

All complaints about the behaviour of tenants or their visitors are thoroughly investigated by the department.

Demerit points

If you or your visitors are found to have been responsible for an incident of antisocial behaviour that amounts to a breach of the tenancy agreement, you may be issued with demerit points.

If you receive 6 demerit points, the department may initiate action to terminate your tenancy and take possession of the premises.

When you are at risk of receiving a demerit point, the department will contact you to offer support to help you stay in your home.

Demerit points will expire if you don't have any proven incidents of antisocial behaviour within 12 months of the last incident.

The number of demerit points issued will depend on the severity of the incident:

• minor incident - one demerit point
• moderate incident - 2 demerit points
• serious incident - 3 demerit points.

Termination of tenancy

In the case of serious incidents of antisocial behaviour resulting in personal injury or serious damage to the premises, action may be taken to terminate your tenancy before 6 demerit points are reached.