> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://redflag.org.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # NT government closes Darwin’s largest homelessness shelter - URL: https://redflag.org.au/article/nt-government-closes-darwins-largest-homelessness-shelter/ - Published: 2026-10-25T21:41:47.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T21:41:47.000Z - Description: Residents of Darwin’s largest homelessness shelter were evicted by the Northern Territory government on 12 October, and relocated to Batchelor, a town 100 kilometres away. - Author: Elliot Downes - Tags: Australia, Racism Residents of Darwin’s largest homelessness shelter were evicted by the Northern Territory government on 12 October, and relocated to Batchelor, a town 100 kilometres away. Yilli Short Stay Accommodation (YiSSA), which is run by Yilli Rreung Housing Aboriginal Corporation, was home to hundreds of people, mostly Aboriginal. Many have experienced domestic violence and are living with serious health conditions, including kidney conditions requiring dialysis. Residents from communities across the territory would stay at YiSSA while accessing medical care or other services in Darwin. Nearly 400 people were directly affected by the closure of the facility, including 160 children. YiSSA’s closure will place more pressure on remaining homelessness services in Darwin. Meanwhile, the minority of residents transferred to the smaller facility in Batchelor will not have the same access to support networks, food, healthcare and education. Batchelor is a town with a population of around 500, a small health clinic and no public transport. The closure of a key homelessness service is particularly egregious given the Northern Territory has the highest rate of homelessness in the country. According to data released last year by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, [one in every 25 Territorians requires homelessness assistance](https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report/contents/state-and-territory-summary-data-and-fact-sheets?ref=redflag.org.au), and Aboriginal people make up 89 percent of those accessing homelessness services in the Northern Territory. As the biggest landlord in the territory, the Northern Territory government is largely to blame for this situation. Territorians on the emergency public housing waiting list can expect to [wait up to a decade for a roof over their head](https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/politics/yilli-rreung-housing-aboriginal-corporation-to-close-in-90-days-leaving-390-adults-and-children-with-nowhere-to-go/news-story/49f36ca0a64b822a8407bd04f9de8880?ref=redflag.org.au). The government is also responsible for the apartheid-like conditions in Aboriginal town camps on the outskirts of places like Darwin and Alice Springs, as well as the overcrowding in remote communities. The closure of YiSSA was announced by the ruling Country Liberal Party (CLP) in July. Ostensibly, it was due to a failure to secure a deal with Ausco, the owner of the buildings and other infrastructure on the Crown land site. But in reality, it was a political decision. After years of renting the demountable buildings, the government offered to buy them for $3 million—the equivalent of just one year’s rent. When this offer was rejected by Ausco, the federal government proposed to cover the cost of the purchase on the condition that Yilli Rreung continue running the service. The CLP rejected the offer of federal funding, with Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro calling it a [“waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned money”](https://nit.com.au/31-08-2026/26227/nt-rejects-the-feds-rescue-deal-for-darwins-biggest-homeless-shelter?ref=redflag.org.au). Yet it has cost [$16.25 million to establish and fund the Batchelor facility](https://ntindependent.com.au/clp-to-relocate-up-to-150-people-from-transitional-housing-facility-to-batchelor?ref=redflag.org.au), run by Mission Australia. The announcement of YiSSA’s closure sparked a campaign by the activist group, Justice Not Jails (JNJ). It culminated in a 200-strong rally outside of the Australian Homelessness Conference in Darwin just days before residents were to be evicted. Anna, an activist with JNJ, told *Red Flag* that the decision doesn’t make sense “unless you approach it from an ideological viewpoint. Some of the YiSSA residents have said that \[the government\] just don’t want Aboriginal people to have a nice, secure place to live.” The YiSSA closure is symptomatic of a Trumpian government that has targeted Aboriginal people in particular. Since coming to power in 2024, the CLP have lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 10, reintroduced spit hoods in detention, and made it easier for Aboriginal children to be removed from their families and placed into long-term state care. This has involved a significant expansion in the carceral state, with the prison population [increasing by 24 percent between 2024 and 2025](https://www.justicereforminitiative.org.au/media%5Frelease%5Fnew%5Fprisons%5Ffor%5Fthe%5Fnt%5Fare%5Fa%5Fcostly%5Fbet%5Fon%5Fa%5Ffailing%5Fsystem?ref=redflag.org.au), and the Finocchiaro government announcing earlier this year the construction of a new private prison in Darwin. The Northern Territory is one of the most incarcerated places in the world, [second only to El Salvador](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-14/abs-data-shows-nt-prison-numbers-at-record-high/105040914?ref=redflag.org.au), with more than 1 percent of the entire population behind bars. Increasingly, this includes people on remand, who are awaiting trial or sentencing. According to Anna, the next phase of the campaign will involve putting pressure on the federal Labor government. “There’s been a lot of disagreement between the CLP and Labor about what was actually promised. It’s all really immature and I think disrespectful to the people whose lives are actually being affected,” she told *Red Flag.* “The federal government obviously has the money. If they really wanted to do something, they could just purchase \[land\] and build a facility in Darwin.” Despite social media posts critical of the YiSSA closure and promises of more consultation with Aboriginal communities, Labor has been in power in the Territory for the majority of the last 25 years and shares responsibility for the housing and incarceration crises. What the Northern Territory desperately needs is an organised left-wing force capable of mobilising the opposition to the closure of YiSSA and similar attacks by the Territory government, a force that can draw on the power of organised workers to make it impossible for governments to carry them through. A force willing to stand up to the criminals who run the capitalist system, who see human beings as dispensable if they’re not helping a business or landlord make money. The formation of the NT Socialists is an important step in that direction. The petition against the YiSSA closure is available [here](https://petitions.getup.org.au/petitions/stop-the-closure-of-aboriginal-community-controlled-yissa-housing?ref=redflag.org.au).