Wedge-tailed Eagle and the Red Kangaroo are the official faunal emblems of the Northern Territory.

Sturt's Desert Rose was adopted as the floral emblem of the Northern Territory in 1974. The Desert Rose has had many botanical names in the past and was officially called Gossypium sturtianum J. H. Willis var sturtianum in 1947. Australian Cotton is probably a more apt name for the Desert Rose as it is actually a member of the Cotton Genus, Gossypium, rather than the Rose Genus, Rosa.

The crest incorporates the floral and faunal emblems of the Northern Territory: the Sturt's Desert Rose, the Red Kangaroo and Wedge-tailed Eagle.

The Northern Territory Flag was flown for the first time at the ceremony in Darwin on 1 July 1978 which marked the grant of self-government to the Northern Territory.