Central Australia is often treated as a postcard backdrop, a place you visit, not a place you build from. In reality, it’s one of the most strategically important regions in the country: nearly 40% of the Territory’s land mass, home to more than 40,000 people and an economy anchored by tourism, mining and energy, pastoral production and government services. Mining and resources alone contributed an estimated $2.9 billion to Central Australia’s Gross Regional Product (GRP) in 2021–22.

The Property Council of Australia’s NT Division has released Growing Central Australia: Solutions for Regional Development and Sustainability – a blueprint that argues the Red Centre should sit at the heart of Australia’s energy transition, regional housing solutions and nation-building agenda, not on the edges of it. 

Developed with Genexa Advisory, the report is designed first and foremost as an advocacy tool: something that can sit on the table with ministers, investors and communities and shape real decisions.

The “why” is blunt. Central Australia faces low population growth, acute workforce shortages, limited housing, a stubborn digital divide, unsealed roads and mounting climate risk. These pressures drive up the cost of doing business, undermine service delivery and erode liveability, all at a time when the region should be capturing a bigger share of national investment and migration.

The report responds with a practical roadmap built around five interdependent pillars: population and market growth, regional connectivity, workforce capability, liveability and housing, and climate and sustainability. The recommendations are unapologetically action-oriented, invest in housing and enabling infrastructure, back First Nations-led projects and enterprises, build an inclusive and skilled local workforce, strengthen collaboration across sectors, and accelerate climate-resilient development that harnesses the region’s world-class solar resource.

Crucially, Growing Central Australia puts First Nations’ leadership at the centre, not on the sidelines. Around 43% of Territory residents identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, rising to about 80% in very remote communities. The report is clear: genuine co-design, local decision-making and Indigenous-led enterprises are non-negotiable if development is to be durable and credible.

The case studies bring that philosophy to life. In the Utopia Homelands Project, more than 40 homes across six homelands were upgraded, with 60% of the workforce being Aboriginal, a model for community-driven housing that builds skills and ownership. 

The Bushlight Program installed more than 150 standalone renewable systems across 130 remote communities, proving how technical excellence plus culturally informed engagement can close the energy gap. 

The proposed $15 billion Desert Bloom Hydrogen Project shows what’s possible when Central Australia’s solar advantage is leveraged at scale, with more than 1,000 construction jobs and 120 ongoing roles forecast. And the Pmara Jutunta Aboriginal Corporation Project demonstrates how community-led governance and private-sector partnerships can create new income streams, local jobs and better access to essential services.

Growing Central Australia is a call for decisive policy, long-term investment and genuine partnerships. At a time when every state is grappling with supply, liveability and climate pressures, regions like Central Australia are the lifeblood of the national growth story. 

If we get the settings right in the Red Centre – housing, connectivity, skills and First Nations’ leadership, the Territory won’t just be part of the conversation about Australia’s future. It will be leading it. TQ