NT, federal governments gather with land councils on Tiwi Islands to sign major housing deal

Soon-to-be-tenants Jacinta Bennett and Dominic Brown, who live in Milikapiti on the Tiwi Islands. (ABC News: Peter Garnish)

After a frustrating, 15-year wait, Jacinta Bennett and her partner Dominic Brown are moving out of the ageing, overcrowded house they share with seven relatives.

The pair has secured a new government build on their Tiwi Islands home of Milikapiti, north of Darwin, to live with their six children and Mr Brown's elderly mother.

They're among thousands of residents across the remote Northern Territory who have spent years struggling with the health and social ramifications of overcrowded housing.

"It's been suffocating us," Ms Bennett said.

"It's like you have no room in your house – we have a nine people living in a three-bedroom, now we're going to have a five bedroom, which has more space for all of us.

"It's been a long process, a long journey, but we've finally got there, so we can start fresh."

On Thursday, a landmark $4 billion housing plan was signed off to try to finally change this reality – a plan pledged to create 2,700 new homes in the remote NT during the next decade.

Federal government backs pledge to halve overcrowded housing

NT and Commonwealth government ministers gathered with the NT's land council heads in Milikapiti to sign the deal, which they're pledging will halve overcrowding by 2034.

The signing was held to the backdrop of dancing and singing by the Tiwi people.

Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney stood by the ambitious overcrowding target, despite the failures of successive governments to make any real gains in that space.

"This plan will achieve what we're setting out to do," she said.

"I am confident … because I've worked with the NT government over the past two years, and I know this rollout is achievable.

"But the other thing that's different about this, [is] it's not just governments making decisions on behalf of communities, and that is why the four land councils are co-signatories to this agreement."

Calls for appropriate design for new builds

During the signing ceremony, Central Land Council general manager Josie Douglas said it was pivotal that any new homes built as part of the deal were appropriately designed.

"We look forward to new houses being built that the design standards meet the needs of community members," Ms Douglas said.

"And the new houses are able to meet the climate change needs of our communities now and into the future."

Ms Burney pledged that Aboriginal people and organisations would be involved "from the beginning to the very end of delivering this program", including on design aspects.