Northern Territory Treasury

Home > What is Darwin really like?

What is Darwin really like?

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory and is the main centre for business and government in the 'Top End'.

Darwin is currently experiencing increasing growth with many exciting developments happening. The Darwin-Alice Springs railway linking the Territory to the rest of Australia is now operational. A new shipping port is under construction and the close proximity to Asia makes Darwin a significant gateway for goods and services. The development of gas fields in the Timor Sea and the piping of gas onshore is another exciting project underway.

Darwin boasts a relaxed lifestyle and magnificent sunsets and is void of the 'hustle and bustle' of many southern capitals. The population of Darwin is quite young with an average age of 33. Modern amenities and shopping centres are available, as well as a domestic and international airport. Charles Darwin University also provides a broad selection of university courses to further your professional career. The warm sunny climate of Darwin allows many outdoor activities to be conducted year round.

Weather in Darwin

Darwin has two sessions, “Wet” and “Dry”, they are pretty much self explanatory. The wet season runs from October to April, typically the temperature is hot, humid and of course wet. The dry season runs from May to September and the daily and evening temperature is generally cooler with less humidity. The table below outlines the monthly average temperature, rainfall and humidity levels that may assist you in understanding the climate and what to expect when visiting or moving to Darwin.

However, generally for Darwin warm sunny days are the rule, even in the wet season the rain usually comes in short, sharp bursts and the sun is never far away. Darwin itself rarely goes above 34C or below 30C during the day because it is on the coast. During the dry season the nights can get as low as 18 degrees, however as you move inland, daytime maximums increase and night time minimums can fall below that.

Statistics	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
Temperature
Mean maximum temperature (°C)	32.4	32.2	32.7	33.5	32.6	31.2	30.6	31.7	33.0	34.1	34.2	33.6	32.6
Mean minimum temperature (°C)	25.2	25.0	24.9	24.4	22.6	20.8	19.7	20.9	23.3	25.1	25.5	25.6	23.6
Rainfall
Mean rainfall (mm)	393.2	329.7	257.0	102.6	14.3	3.0	1.3	1.6	12.8	51.6	124.0	241.8	1537.9
Other daily elements
Mean number of clear days	0.7	0.7	2.4	8.4	15.1	18.4	21.0	20.7	15.2	8.8	3.5	1.7	116.6
Mean 9am relative Humidity (%)	79	80	79	70	63	62	60	63	65	66	68	73	69
Mean number of cloudy days	19.1	16.2	13.3	6.3	2.9	2.0	1.4	1.2	1.6	4.4	8.8	15.3	92.5

red = highest value blue = lowest value

Moving to Darwin

The Northern Territory Government has prepared an information kit called Make Your Move, which contains useful information on moving to the Territory, as well as important contact details for local services and providers. Click here for further information.

The Northern Territory Government is providing a free* power connection voucher to interstate residents moving to the Territory. Free* power connection voucher.

Housing in Darwin

Renting and buying in Darwin can be difficult. Both unit and house prices have risen dramatically over the past 5 years and are continuing to steadily increase. Darwin has an accommodation shortage issue which the Northern Territory Government is addressing however at present people are struggling to find houses/units to rent at an affordable price. Below is a table that shows the median house/unit prices and average weekly house/unit rental prices as of March 2011. These figures have been sourced from the Real Estate Institute of Northern Territory (REINT), their website link is below.

Median house prices		Median unit prices
Darwin overall	$550 000	Darwin overall	$435 000
Inner Darwin	$760 000	Inner Darwin	$478 000
Northern suburbs	$570 000	Northern suburbs	$385 000
Palmerston	$465 000	Palmerston	$370 000

Average weekly house rental		Average weekly unit rental
Darwin overall	$526	Darwin overall	$405
Inner Darwin	$608	Inner Darwin	$471
Northern suburbs	$497	Northern suburbs	$382
Palmerston	$473	Palmerston	$361

Initiatives of the Northern Territory Government

The Northern Territory Government has developed initiatives to help sustainable living in the Northern Territory. Some of the major initiatives are listed below. Please click on the links for further information.

Housing the Territory initiative is underway with the development of new suburbs such as Lyons, Muirhead, Bellamack Gardens, Johnston and Zuccoli.
First Home Owners Grant The Territory Government provides a $7000 grant to eligible persons purchasing or building their first home in Australia.

Home Start NT is a Northern Territory Government initiative that is helping more Territorians to buy their own home. With financial support from HOMESTART NT, eligible Territorians earning low to middle incomes can buy their own home using less than 30% of their income. There is a range of loan types and help with costs like stamp duty, fees and whitegoods.

BuildBonus provides a $10 000 grant to home buyers and investors, including companies and trustees, that sign a contract to purchase or build a new home (including signing a contract for a house and land package), purchase a new unit (including off-the-plan) or commence construction of a new home as an owner builder, between 3 May 2011 and 30 June 2012 inclusive.

The rental market in parts of the Territory is extremely tight, leading to increasing rents. The Territory Government’s goal is to lift the number of units available to rent at a lower cost. They intend to do that in a number of ways listed below:

Wirrina Redevelopment in Parap is a major redevelopment of public housing stock and will include about 100 one, two and three bedroom units.
Maluka Development in Palmerston is a proposed Territory Government project to increase the supply of affordable rental dwellings for Territorians.