Arabic version: الإقليم الشمالي يطبق سياسة الإخلاء من السكن العام بعد ثلاث مخالفات
According to ABC News, Northern Territory public housing tenants can now be evicted after receiving three strikes for anti-social behaviour under a policy that began on October 19, 2026. The system replaces a red-card scheme under which tenants could be evicted after accumulating six demerit points. Existing demerit points will be converted to strikes on a one-for-one basis.
Under the Country Liberal Party government’s policy, minor breaches attract one strike and moderate breaches attract two. A significant breach can result in all three strikes at once. NT Housing Minister Steve Edgington said three strikes could follow serious anti-social behaviour involving threats or property damage, while repeated behaviour could also lead to immediate action to remove a tenant from their home.
Mr Edgington said the changes responded to concerns from neighbours of public housing tenants, particularly in the Darwin region. He said tenants would have an opportunity to respond to complaints and provide information that differed from allegations before any strike was issued. Termination proceedings are progressed by the Housing Department through the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Labor opposition MLA Chansey Paech criticised the policy, accusing the CLP government of trying to “racially control” Aboriginal people for electoral benefit. He said the measures would overwhelmingly affect Indigenous people and argued that tenants should receive support rather than eviction, warning that removing residents from housing would worsen homelessness. A spokesperson for Mr Edgington said public housing policy applied equally to every tenant.
In northern Darwin, Karama resident Doreen Dyer supported the three-strikes approach while saying she did not want people to lose their homes. She said anti-social behaviour in Karama and nearby Malak had deteriorated over the past decade, citing fighting, damaged homes and boarded windows. Ms Dyer also said visitors, rather than tenants, were often responsible for problems, but hoped strikes would encourage residents to address behaviour affecting neighbours.
