The Top End
Unspoiled national parks, breathtaking waterfalls and ancient Aboriginal culture, the Top End is home to some of the Northern Territory's most stunning landscapes
Situated on the very edge of the Northern Territory, the Top End including Darwin and Palmerston cities and their surrounds is home to over 140,000 people, 100 nationalities and 50 social, cultural and religious communities, making this coastal community one of the friendliest and most culturally diverse areas in Australia.
The Top End region incorporates the north or north-east section of the Territory including the Tiwi Islands. It encompasses 6 townships which include Batchelor, Jabiru and Adelaide River. The region also consists of 17 communities including Wadeye and Maningrida, 4 town camps and 138 outstations.
In the Top End
There are 3 major hospitals serving Darwin: the Royal Darwin Hospital and Palmerston Regional Hospital (across 2 campuses), plus the Darwin Private Hospital.
A 361-bed tertiary referral and teaching hospital, Royal Darwin Hospital serves the Darwin urban area and the Top End population ~140,000, including rural and remote Aboriginal communities. It has a strong clinical focus on Aboriginal health and infectious diseases, provides outreach services across the Territory, and is affiliated with Flinders University, Charles Darwin University, Menzies School of Health Research and the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre.
Opened in 2018 as a 116-bed extension of Royal Darwin Hospital, Palmerston Regional Hospital is a sub-acute facility. It works alongside primary health care teams to deliver community allied health, aged care, oral and environmental health, public health programs and remote health centre support.
Both Royal Darwin Hospital and Palmerston Regional Hospital offer a full spectrum of clinical services, including:
- emergency
- surgery and critical care
- infection prevention
- gynaecology
- maternal and child health
- paediatrics
- orthopaedics
- palliative care
- cancer care
- rehabilitation
- geriatric care
- allied health
- medical imaging
- pharmacy
- dialysis.
Comprised of 2 units - Top End Mental Health Service (TEMHS) and the Alcohol and Other Drugs Service (AODS).
This specialist service supports Darwin urban including Palmerston, Darwin rural, East Arnhem and Katherine districts.
TEMHS delivers assessment, treatment and therapeutic interventions through teams and wards such as:
- Mental Health Access team
- Cowdy Ward
- Joan Ridley Unit
- Youth Inpatient Program
- Adult and Remote Mental Health
- Perinatal and Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Forensic services.
Care is culturally secure featuring interpreters, Aboriginal Mental Health Workers, Ngangkari healers and close collaboration with GPs and community organisations.
This arm of NT Health delivers:
- public health (including CDC and environmental health)
- oral health and cancer screening
- community allied health and aged care
- hearing services and outreach
- prison health and remote health centres (e.g. Pirlangimpi, Belyuen, Milikapiti, Batchelor, Peppimenarti, Nauiyu, Borroloola, Wadeye).
Remote roles offer experienced nurses and doctors the chance to lead preventative programs (adult, maternal, under-5, youth/adolescent and chronic disease care) in partnership with local communities, all while enjoying the Top End’s unique outdoor lifestyle.
Urban areas also feature specialist clinics, GP practices and Aboriginal community controlled health organisations like Danila Dilba Health Services, plus regular specialist outreach to surrounding regions.
In addition to the health, the Top End offers employment opportunities across several government and private enterprise industries including tourism, horticulture, forestry, education and mining.
Darwin is home to the Robertson, Larrakeyah and Coonawarra Defence Barracks and the RAAF base, a large employer across the region.
Discover jobs in the Top End by visiting Indeed website.
A wide variety of childcare and educational choices are available across Darwin and the Top End remote areas ranging from public government provided schools to private Catholic, Lutheran and independent non-denominational colleges.
The standard curriculum program is free for all students enrolled in government schools.
Charles Darwin University provides an extensive range of higher education and vocational education and training options available both on campus and online. Darwin is the best place in Australia for graduates to find employment with 71.8% of undergraduates living in Darwin gaining full-time employment 4 months after completing their degree.
The Top End is known for its tropical climate and unlike the rest of Australia, it only has 2 seasons - the Dry and the Wet.
During the Dry season Top End residents enjoy blue skies, and average of sunny 32℃ days and 20℃ nights. The humidity drops to a comfortable 60-65%, making it the perfect condition for outdoor living.
The Wet season generally starts in November/December and usually ends in April. Temperatures will reach the mid-30 ℃ and an increase in humidity, brings refreshing monsoonal rains and spectacular storms.
Culture
The Top End has a culturally diverse Aboriginal population, consisting of a number of Aboriginal communities and language groups that are situated along some of the most picturesque coast lines, inland waterways and escarpment country.
The Top End’s also boasts a rich history of multiculturalism which is shaped by Aboriginal people, newly arrived migrants from all parts of the world, as well as established multicultural communities. Local communities are welcoming, vibrant and inclusive enabling individuals and groups to achieve their potential and the city to prosper as a centre of culture, creativity and learning.
Families and individuals alike come to the Top End to enjoy the tropical relaxed lifestyle, cultural festivals, Mindil Beach Markets, the Darwin Waterfront and wave pool, jumping crocodiles, or the national parks.
Darwin, Palmerston and surrounds
The Larrakia People are the traditional custodians of the Darwin region from Cox Peninsula in the west, to Gunn Point in the north, Adelaide River in the east and down to Manton Dam in the south holding a deep spiritual connection to both land and sea.
Unspoiled national parks and breathtaking waterfalls make the Top End home to some of the Northern Territory’s most iconic natural scenery.
Renowned for its tropical climate, spectacular sunsets and great fishing spots, the Top End also hosts World Heritage–listed gems like Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks, plus the coastal Tiwi Islands.
Spend your afternoon at Casuarina Square or Gateway Shopping Centre, browse Mindil Beach Markets at sunset, or venture further out to family-friendly swimming holes like Howard Springs Nature Park and Berry Springs.
Testimonials
A great lifestyle goes with the Territory. Discover what the locals have to say about living in the Northern Territory’s Top End.
Search health jobs in the NT
