After three decades in Athens, it took one moment outside a supermarket to force Rita Macarounas to leave Greece for good.

"I was waiting at a bus stop and saw a child in a dumpster," Ms Macarounas told 105.7 ABC Darwin.

"I thought he was playing and then I realised he was going through the rubbish for food.

"That's when I decided: 'I have to leave now'."

The decision — made in 2012 at the height of the ongoing Greek debt crisis — saw Ms Macarounas close her Greek bank accounts and move to Darwin.

Ms Macarounas now holds concern for her loved ones back in Athens, as the struggling European nation approaches a crucial International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan repayment deadline on June 30.

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras announced on Monday the country's banks and stock exchange would shut, and pleaded for calm after anxious citizens emptied ATMs at the weekend in a dramatic escalation of the debt crisis.

In a statement, Mr Tsipras said the Bank of Greece had recommended a 60-euro (AU$87) restriction on bank withdrawals after international creditors refused to extend the nation's bailout beyond June 30.

Ms Macarounas has been calling friends and family in Greece and described their experiences as "chaotic", with many already withdrawing large sums of money from ATMs last week.

"They don't know what to do and it's been a long ordeal for everybody," she said.

"It's been a long eight years and people are just exhausted emotionally.

"They're drained, really in despair and have no ideas on how to deal with this. It's really bad."

Greeks are racing to find functioning ATM cash machines as the country's banks look set to close on Monday. ( AFP: Aris Messinis )

Greek community leader: Darwin welcoming migrant arrivals

Greece received the first of two international bailouts in 2010, following fears about uncontrollable debt and the nation heading towards bankruptcy.

The subsequent and deeply unpopular austerity measures has seen many leave the country, with Australian capital cities such as Melbourne witnessing a rise in Greek migrants.

Greek community leader and former NT politician Kon Vatskalis said Darwin's proportionally large Greek population has received a noticeable boost in numbers in the last few years.

"If you go to church on Sunday, you will meet people you never met before in your life," he said.

"I expect many more to come because they have the opportunity to escape the poverty and crisis in Greece and come to Australia, especially Darwin, which they see as heaven compared to Greece."

Greek nationals face the usual visa restrictions if they want to come to Australia. But those with Australian backgrounds, such as Ms Macarounas, are finding the emigration process easier.

Ms Macarounas, who was born in Darwin but left Australia as a teenager in 1981, said re-adjusting to Territory life had sometimes been "difficult" but life was much more stable in Australia.

"There's a whole generation of [young Greek people] who have Masters and PhDs that are unemployed at the moment," Ms Macarounas said.

"If they are lucky enough to get a job in Greece they'll be paid about 300 euros a month.

"We need an intervention from God right now."

Mr Vatskalis said desperate people rummaging through dumpsters had become a sad yet common sight in Greece.

This month, The Guardian reported that food consumption in Greece was down by 28.5 per cent under the austerity measures.