CANBERRA: Darwin’s largest short-stay accommodation facility closed on Sunday (Oct 11), with some residents asked to relocate to a site about 100 kilometres (km) south of the Northern Territory capital, reported Xinhua.
The 400-bed YiSSA facility had been operating at capacity and had a waiting list, according to local media reports.
It provided temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness, residents of remote Aboriginal communities visiting Darwin for medical treatment, and families fleeing domestic violence.
The Northern Territory government has established a smaller replacement facility in Batchelor, about 100 km south of Darwin, with capacity for around 150 people.
The closure has raised concerns about access to health, legal and other support services concentrated in Darwin.
Danila Dilba Health Service said about 250 of its clients had registered YiSSA as their address and warned that some could face difficulties accessing services following the closure.
The Northern Territory government has said medically vulnerable residents would not be relocated to Batchelor unless arrangements had been made to ensure their continued access to necessary care.
The government had previously rejected a joint funding proposal from the federal government to keep the Darwin facility operating.
It has said the Batchelor site will provide transitional accommodation as well as emergency evacuation capacity during extreme weather events. - Bernama-Xinhua
