The Department of Primary Industry and Resources was established by the Northern Territory Government on 12 September 2016.

The department brings together many of the key functions that drive economic development on Northern Territory (NT) lands, coastal areas and inland waterways.

Its operations cover the entire NT. Its major functional areas are mines and energy, fisheries and product integrity, primary industry economic development and NT geological survey.

These include regulatory and research functions related to:

mining
energy
gas
geoscience information
geological survey
mining environment remediation
agriculture including livestock and plant industries
fisheries management and compliance
aquaculture
agribusiness investment attraction and market development
agribusiness enterprise development
Indigenous economic development
biosecurity
animal welfare
community engagement
policy, strategy and compliance.
The department has one minister, one chief executive and has offices in each major region in the NT.