Flood evacuees from the Katherine River floods have now safely returned home, marking an important milestone as the Territory's welfare response moves from evacuation to recovery.
The evacuation centre at Katherine High School has now closed, with residents keen to return home and begin getting back to normal life.
Some residents who were unable to return home have been supported through local homelessness services or temporary accommodation while longer-term arrangements are made.
While the centre has closed, it remains on standby should it need to be reactivated in response to changing conditions.
The Welfare Functional Group is now shifting its focus to supporting recovery for Katherine residents impacted by the floods.
Later this week, the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre (GYRACC) will transition into a Welfare Recovery Centre. The centre will continue to process Immediate Relief Payments and host a range of services to help residents recover, including insurance support, counselling and psychosocial services, and Centrelink assistance.
Department of Children and Families Chief Executive Brent Warren said the safe return home of Katherine residents reflected the dedication and coordination of teams across government and the community.
"People were eager to get home and start getting their lives back on track," Mr Warren said.
"While the evacuation centre has closed, recovery support is just getting underway. The Welfare Recovery Centre will provide a single place where people can access the help they need as they rebuild."
"This response has been made possible by the dedication of staff and volunteers from across government and our partner organisations who stepped up to support the community."
Since emergency operations commenced, the Welfare Functional Group, with the Emergency Shelter Functional Group, supported more than 500 sheltering residents and evacuees in Katherine, and processed more than 3,500 Immediate Relief Payments for residents impacted by flooding across the region.
Mr Warren said the response had been strengthened by the strong partnership between government agencies and community organisations.
"I want to thank our staff and volunteers from across the Territory who stepped in to support evacuation centres and relief payments, including teams who travelled from Darwin to assist the response."
"I would like to especially thank the school staff and principal at Katherine High, Macfarlane Primary and Casuarina Street Primary Schools. The schools opened their doors to the Katherine community first as emergency shelters, then over the last week as evacuation centres. This response would not have been possible without their efforts."
"We are particularly grateful to our Katherine based staff and community partners, including the Australian Red Cross and local Aboriginal organisations such as Jawoyn, whose members stepped forward to support their community, even while many were dealing with the impacts of flooding themselves."
The Katherine evacuation centre was delivered through a joint approach between the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Education and Training, bringing together emergency shelters and evacuation centre operations.
Department of Education and Training Chief Executive Susan Bowden said the collaboration demonstrated the strength of a coordinated Territory response.
"Our teams worked side by side to support families during a challenging time," she said.
"This truly was a coordinated government response, with staff from across departments coming together quickly to ensure people had a safe place to stay and access to essential services."
"We are proud of the work of our school staff in Katherine and the region, who responded rapidly to provide shelter to the community of Katherine and then worked tirelessly to get our schools back up and running ready to recommence teaching today."
"I would like to extend my personal thanks to the principals and school staff that welcomed the community into their schools in Katherine: Nick Lovering at Katherine High School, Nicolle Gadd at Casuarina Street Primary School, and Philip Russell at Macfarlane Primary School."
While the Katherine evacuation centre has now closed, other evacuation centres remain active across the Territory, including Foskey Pavilion and Marrara Indoor Stadium in Darwin, and two sites in Mataranka supporting residents from remote and regional flood-affected communities.
The Welfare Functional Group continues to work with partner agencies to support evacuees and plan for safe returns to community as conditions allow.
