Local government areas of the Northern Territory


The Northern Territory is a federal Australian territory in north-central Australia. It is the third largest Australian federal division with an area of but the least populous with inhabitants as at June 2019. The Northern Territory is divided administratively into 18 Local government areas generally known as Councils who are responsible for providing local government services.
The most recent local elections were held in 2025. The next elections are scheduled to be held on 25 August 2029.

Area types

As of 1 July 2008, there were two classifications of local government in the Northern Territory:
  1. Municipalities, of which there were five; and
  2. Shires or Regions, of which there were eleven shire councils.
The Northern Territory was unusual as a comparatively large share of the territory's population lived in unincorporated areas. In 2006, prior to the reorganisation of local government areas in the territory, 92 percent of the land area with 16 percent of the population, was unincorporated. This anomaly is due to the territory's very low population density, just 0.16 people per km2.
Most of the unincorporated areas disappeared as a result of local government reform in 2008. The area remaining unincorporated is, 1.47 percent of the total, and contains 3.0 percent of the population in June 2019.
By comparison, in the only other states or territories in Australia with unincorporated areas, only 0.02% of the population of New South Wales, 0.002% of Victoria's population and 0.6% of the population of South Australia, live in unincorporated areas.

Former local government areas

Prior to 1 July 2008, local government areas in the Northern Territory were classified as either :
  • Community Government Councils of which 51 existed,
  • Incorporated Associations of which three existed,
  • Municipalities of which six existed and
  • Special Purpose Towns of which there is only one example.

Towns

Community Government Councils

Incorporated Communities

Unincorporated Area