Remote Housing NT

National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing

The National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing (NPARIH), which now incorporates the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program, is a joint housing program that will deliver 934 new houses, 415 rebuilds of existing houses and 2500 refurbishments across 73 remote Indigenous communities and a number of community living areas (town camps) in the Northern Territory by 2013.

NPARIH is the largest Indigenous housing program undertaken by the Australian and Northern Territory governments to help close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage across the Territory. Better housing will help make families healthier, strengthen communities and enable economic growth through job and training opportunities.

Two private construction company consortia known as alliances have been engaged to deliver the program. The alliances work closely with communities and government to deliver better housing for Indigenous Territorians.

A target of 20 per cent has been set for Indigenous employment across the program. The alliances also subcontract and use local companies wherever possible, placing a priority on the use of local Indigenous companies.

For further information, see the Alliances page and read the NPARIH fact sheet PDF icon 254 KB.

The Australian and Northern Territory governments are committed to delivering the construction program for remote public housing on time and on budget, with the best possible outcomes for the Territory and its remote communities. For the latest information, read the Remote Housing NT newsletter and latest news updates.

Objectives
Remote Housing NT has a range of objectives, which also include social and economic outcomes to achieve the aims of the program.

The seven objectives are:

  1. Housing outcomes - housing that meets residents’ needs and effectively reduces overcrowding in selected communities.
  2. Quality - new and existing houses constructed and refurbished to an appropriate standard.
  3. Social and economic outcomes - employment supported by training of Indigenous people to achieve a sustainable workforce in each community for the ongoing construction, maintenance and management of housing. See Employment and Workforce Development.
  4. Time - completion of the program by 2013.
  5. Cost - whole of life cost of delivering and managing houses is reduced, through innovation and economies of scale.
  6. Management best practices - achieve a step change improvement in the delivery of major housing programs and use this as a basis for the delivery of a range of future housing programs and schemes.
  7. Relationships - achieve positive relationships with openness and transparency, and an understanding of local needs. Establish an environment that enables better outcomes for infrastructure employment, and workforce development.

Community Engagement
Community engagement is an important part of Remote Housing NT. The government, alliances and Housing Reference Groups are working together and talking to people in each community about:

  • land use and area planning
  • housing mix, design, priorities and options
  • jobs and training opportunities
  • how local businesses can benefit.