Documents released under a Senate Order moved by Senator Lidia Thorpe have revealed implementation of a major Commonwealth–Northern Territory funding agreement has stalled, with no payments yet made under the package more than a year after it was announced.

The Northern Territory Remote Aboriginal Investment Agreement (NTRAI), announced in February 2025, is an $842.6 million partnership between the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments to fund critical services in remote communities.

But the documents released to Senator Thorpe, alongside evidence in Northern Territory budget papers, reveal major delays in implementation, and funds for frontlines services held up.

The Minister for Indigenous Australians, in responding to the Senate order, said that no payments have yet been made under the agreement.

At the same time, Northern Territory budget papers show that millions of dollars expected to support frontline services in 2025–26 did not flow because of delays in finalising the NTRAI agreement.

NT budget papers specifically identify that delays in the agreement finalisation led to reduced funding for interpreter and translator services, family support services for children at risk of child removal, and resources for courts.

The Ministers response also suggests the Northern Territory has not met key reporting deadlines, while the agreement’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning framework, promoted as a key transparency measure, has still not been finalised.

The last publicly available Joint Steering Committee communiqué was issued in January 2026 and noted a further meeting was planned for February, but no subsequent communiqués have been published, suggesting that the Steering Committee has not met in months.

The documents also reveal major staff shortages in oral health services, with an 84% staff vacancy rate for oral health therapists.

The revelations come as the Northern Territory's latest budget commits to massively increasing funding for prison expansion and police, while reducing funding in disease prevention, remote health, mental health and health infrastructure.

Quotes attributable to Lidia Thorpe, Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator:

“When I put in the Senate Order for these documents, the Government wasn’t happy. Senator Gallagher called it a waste of time.

Now we know why.

It appears this agreement has stalled. The Minister for Indigenous Australians and the Northern Territory Chief Minister owe us an explanation.

Looking through the Northern Territory budget papers, we can see millions of dollars that were expected to support essential services, including family support for children at risk of child removal and interpreter services, have not flowed.

The documents I uncovered also reveal major workforce shortages in oral health services.

The lack of funds for these services is because the Commonwealth and Territory governments have dropped the ball on this agreement.

Our communities are paying the price for their incompetence.

The Territory Government appears to have missed key reporting deadlines, and the Commonwealth has confirmed no payments have yet been made under the agreement despite announcing it more than a year ago.

The monitoring and evaluation plan hasn’t even been finished, and it appears the steering committee hasn’t met in months.

This comes as the Territory Government is cutting funding from disease prevention, remote health, mental health and health infrastructure, while pouring hundreds of millions into prison expansion.

The Northern Territory received an increase of almost $400 million in GST this year, taking its allocation to more than $5 billion. This money is supposed to address these issues, but instead of funding services in remote communities, they are ploughing hundreds of millions into prisons and cops.

Why would the NT want to close the gap when the Commonwealth rewards them with larger GST allocations for keeping the gap open?

In the middle of a diphtheria outbreak in remote communities, these documents show the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments are failing in their basic responsibility to provide services that people rely on.

I’ll be seeing them at Senate Estimates this week."