There is inconsistent, partial, and at times absent alignment between the recommendations made by the Northern Territory Coroner into the "national shame" of domestic violence and the NT government's policy commitments, the Territory's Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance (AMSANT) says.

In 2024, Coroner Elisabeth Armitage delivered landmark findings into the violent killings of Kumarn Rubuntja, Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk and Miss Yunupingu — four of at least 85 Indigenous women killed by partners in the NT since 2000. All had previously reported domestic violence to police.

She described their deaths as part of a "plague" of domestic violence homicides contributing to a "national shame", and issued 35 recommendations to address the crisis. The Coroner stressed the women were not invisible to the system but had been catastrophically failed by it.

Since the inquest, at least five more Aboriginal women have allegedly been killed by partners in the NT.

In response, the NT government said it would fully support 21 of the coroner's recommendations, accept 11 in principle, and reject three, including the creation of a DFSV peak body. The NT remains the only Australian jurisdiction without one.

A year after the inquest, the government released its DFSV Strategy 2025-2028, shaped by Aboriginal organisations, frontline services and people with lived experience. However, the strategy made no mention of Coroner Armitage's findings.

On Tuesday, AMSANT released a report card assessing progress against the recommendations.

Comparing them with the government's strategy, it found 12 were not included, 16 were only partially aligned, and none of the 35 were "fully measurable within the strategy's monitoring framework".

AMSANT said this did not diminish the importance of the strategy. Rather, it "highlights a gap in transparency and measurement that must be addressed if reform is to lead to safer outcomes".

"These recommendations arose from the deaths of Miss Yunupingu, Ngeygo Ragurk, Kumarn Rubuntja and Kumanjayi Haywood," AMSANT Chair Rob McPhee said.

"The Coroner made clear that these women were not invisible to the system, yet the system failed them. We all share responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen again."

The NT has the highest rate of domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) in the world, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experiencing intimate partner homicide at seven times the rate of all Australian women nationally.

NT Police forecast a 73 per cent increase in DFSV reports over the next decade.

AMSANT said that although many of Coroner Armitage's recommendations focused on Aboriginal community-led solutions, cultural authority and long-term systemic reform, these elements are either "absent or not measurable" in the government's plan. The organisation said clear accountability mechanisms are needed so communities can track and understand progress.

"If we can't measure whether reforms are improving safety, reducing violence or addressing root causes, we can't honestly say we are turning the tide," Mr McPhee said.

Responding to the coroner's recommendations, NT Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Robyn Cahill described them as "uninspiring" and said they failed to hit the mark.

She argued the coroner was not "brave enough" to make recommendations about Aboriginal culture, despite findings about cultural pressure being used as coercive control. She said addressing this could have helped "to empower communities to take a stand on this very sensitive and challenging issue.

Last week, the Minister was urged to work more closely with frontline organisations and her own department to prioritise young people, after a coalition of legal and community groups argued she has misinterpreted the legislation under her portfolio.

AMSANT said Coroner Armitage's recommendations needed to be re-centred within the government's response. Mr McPhee said everyone shares a commitment to ending domestic violence, arguing it "requires a suite of action across the board".

"And that action needs to be led by the community too, not just government," he said.

"What we're saying is: let's work together to make sure the reforms are visible, measurable and accountable to the families and communities who are still living with the consequences of violence."

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