Asked to move on in the Northern Territory?

What the legislation that applies in the Northern Territory says about a police direction to leave a public place — who can give one, how long it can keep you away, and what happens if you do not go.

Right now, being safe beats being right. If someone is asking you to move, you can move and challenge it later. That route keeps you out of trouble; arguing on the spot rarely does. Write down what happened as soon as you can — time, place, who, and what they said.

What the Act says

Read from the Summary Offences Act 1923 (NT), section by section.

s 47A(1) and (2) and s 5, as in force at 25 March 2024 — Under the Summary Offences Act, a Northern Territory police officer may ask a person loitering in a public place to cease loitering if they do not give a satisfactory account of themselves. The officer may also require a person loitering to cease loitering and to remove any article under their control, if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that an offence has been or is likely to be committed, or that pedestrian or vehicle traffic is or is about to be obstructed, by them or someone loitering near them; that their safety or that of anyone near them is in danger; or that they are interfering with others' reasonable enjoyment of the place for the purpose it was intended for. The Act defines loiter as to idle or linger about. Not complying carries a penalty of up to $2,000 or up to 6 months' imprisonment, or both.

s 47B(1), (2), (4)–(7), as in force at 25 March 2024 — A Northern Territory police officer may give a written notice to a person loitering at a public place requiring them to stay away from the place, or an area including it, for a specified period not exceeding 72 hours. The officer may do so only on a reasonable suspicion that the person, or someone in a group they are part of at the place, has committed or is about to commit an offence there. Contravening the notice is an offence with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units or 6 months' imprisonment, and a reasonable excuse is a defence. The officer must take all reasonable steps to explain the notice to the person in language they can readily understand, though a failure to do so does not invalidate it.

What this page does not tell you

Only the police powers above have been read against the Northern Territory's legislation. Whether anyone other than police — a council or government officer, a security guard or a landholder — can require you to leave is a different question under different law, and this site has not read it for the Northern Territory — so it does not answer it. An absence here is not a finding that nobody else can ask you to go.

Other states draft this differently enough that their wording would mislead you: how the jurisdictions compare.

Wherever you are

If you have nowhere else to go tonight, that is the more urgent problem and it has its own page: the services that can help you find a bed, by state. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

Whatever a page says, the sign in front of you and the person standing there are the immediate facts. This site publishes legal information, not legal advice — it describes what the law says in general, never what you should do in your situation.

Sleeping in your car in the Northern Territory

Where this comes from

• “loiter means to idle or linger about.” “A person loitering in any public place who does not give a satisfactory account of himself when requested so to do by a member of the Police Force shall, on request by a member of the Police Force to cease loitering, cease so to loiter.” “Where a person is loitering in a public place and a member of the Police Force believes, on reasonable grounds” “that an offence has been or is likely to be committed; or” “that the movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic is obstructed or is about to be obstructed,” “by that person or by any other person loitering in the vicinity of that person;” “that the safety of the person or any person in his vicinity is in danger; or” “that the person is interfering with the reasonable enjoyment of other persons using the public place for the purpose or purposes for which it was intended,” “the member of the Police Force may require any person so loitering to cease loitering and to remove from that public place any article under his control, and a person so required shall comply with and shall not contravene the requirement.” “Penalty: $2,000 or imprisonment for 6 months, or both.” — Summary Offences Act 1923, Northern Territory Government (NT legislation database). Retrieved 12 Oct 2026.
• “A police officer may give a written notice to a person who is loitering at a public place:” “requiring the person to stay away from the place or an area including the place for a specified period not exceed 72 hours from the time the notice is given; and” “The officer may do so only if the officer reasonably suspects:” “the person has committed, or is about to commit, an offence at the place or in the area; or” “the person is part of a group of people at the place and one or more people in the group have committed or are about to commit an offence at the place or in the area.” “The person is guilty of an offence if:” “the officer gives the person the notice; and” “the person contravenes the notice.” “Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months.” “It is a defence for an offence against subsection (4) if the defendant proves that the defendant has a reasonable excuse.” “The officer must ensure all reasonable steps are taken to explain to the person (in language the person can readily understand) the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a) to (c).” “The notice is not invalidated by a failure to comply with subsection (6).” — Summary Offences Act 1923, Northern Territory Government (NT legislation database). Retrieved 12 Oct 2026.