The Northern Territory Government says it supports either in full or in principle all 227 of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Youth Detention and Child Protection, but does not appear to have committed funds to make the necessary sweeping changes.

Key points: The NT Government has offered "in principle" support for almost half the recommendations, supports the rest

The NT Government has offered "in principle" support for almost half the recommendations, supports the rest It has not announced what funding it will put forward or for which measures

It has not announced what funding it will put forward or for which measures The announcement comes after a week of sustained fire after a toddler was allegedly raped following Territory Families' failure to act on 21 notifications

The royal commission delivered its final report in November after a year of hearings, sparked by an ABC Four Corners report on the tear-gassing and mistreatment of young people detained at Darwin's Don Dale youth detention centre.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner apologised for the failings of successive NT governments, calling it "a stain on the NT's reputation" and announced a comprehensive overhaul of the youth justice and child protection systems.

The NT Government announced a fortnight ago it would spend $70 million to replace both the current Don Dale facility and the Alice Springs youth detention centre with what it called "youth justice training centres", focusing on "culture and connectedness to family and community" with the aim of "breaking the cycle of crime".

On Thursday it announced its full response; however, about half of the recommendations were listed as "supported in principle" and it was not clear what that meant in terms of government action and funding commitment.

"This royal commission sets out very clearly there is a lot of work to do," Territory Families Minister Dale Wakefield said.

"I am determined that this is not going to be another report that sits on a shelf.

"For too long there has been a pathway through child protection into the youth justice system and into our adult corrections system, we are seeing the outcomes of that right now.

We have to make generational change to make a difference, and we are absolutely committed to that."

Jesuit Social Services CEO Jared Sharp called on the Government to put money forward. ( ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough )

Several heads of major NT social services and health groups backed the Government's announcement, including the Danila Dilba Health Service and the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT.

"For those of us who have been working in the youth justice system for the past 10 or so years and seen these issues play out, these are really welcome steps," Jesuit Social Services CEO Jared Sharp said.

"But what we now desperately need is the budget commitment from the NT Government to implement all of these recommendations in full.

"This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to get this right. We've got a royal commission that's given us the blueprint, we now have to implement it."

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Unclear commitment on major recommendations

The Government says 217 recommendations relate to action it can take, with another 10 recommendations requiring action by the Federal Government and other organisations.

It said the recommendations align with a reform plan it had mapped out since coming to power in August 2016, including the broad alcohol policy reforms announced earlier this week, including setting a minimum price of $1.30 per standard drink.

The Government has split the recommendations into 17 work programs divided into four groups: putting children and families first; improving care and protection of children; improving youth justice systems; and strengthening governance.

Some of the major recommendations which have only been listed as having in-principle support included:

Increasing the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12

Increasing the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 That youths under 14 cannot be detained except in exceptional circumstances

That youths under 14 cannot be detained except in exceptional circumstances Overhauling the foster care system

Overhauling the foster care system Overhauling the Care and Protection of Children Act NT

Overhauling the Care and Protection of Children Act NT Overhauling the case management system

Overhauling the case management system Creating, staffing, and resourcing a Commission for Children and Young People

Creating, staffing, and resourcing a Commission for Children and Young People Having sufficient female youth detention officers to oversee female detainees

Having sufficient female youth detention officers to oversee female detainees Introducing body-worn video cameras.

Funding did not appear to be set aside for the extensive changes, but the Government said it was "considering a submission for resourcing impacts as part of the 2018-19 budget development process and will provide an implementation plan" for consideration in late March.

The Commonwealth Government has refused the NT Government's request that it match its $50 million pledge for infrastructure upgrades of detention centres, and Ms Wakefield accused it of stepping away from its responsibilities for delivering services in remote communities.

Children's Commissioner Colleen Gwynne has previously said she wanted a firmer commitment.

"In principle support … is a bit of a cop out, it's 'We think it's a good idea but we don't want to commit to it'," she said.

"As a commissioner when I get those sort of responses from service providers I don't accept that, I say 'You either accept it or you don't accept it'."

On Thursday, she said there was clearly a lot of work to be done and legislative change required, but that she had hoped the Government would have moved to immediately increase the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years of age.

"The difficulty is the implementation [of the recommendations] and that's why we continue to fail in this area, and I guess the Government is very concerned about failing again," she said.

When questioned about the large number of in principle supported recommendations, Ms Wakefield said the Government was looking at resourcing measures, technical issues with changes that were already in train, and in other cases wanting to go further than what was recommended.

Announcement follows alleged rape of Tennant Creek toddler

The announcement comes a week after a two-year-old girl was allegedly raped in Tennant Creek.

Territory Families has been under sustained fire for its response to the incident, after it was reported the family was subject to more than 20 notifications to Territory Families in the months before the incident but that little action had been taken.

When asked whether the Government was too attentive to Aboriginal cultural concerns and was reluctant to remove at-risk children, Ms Wakefield said child safety was the core priority of her department.

"I don't think those two issues around culture versus safety are actually mutually exclusive, I think you can do both," she said.

"A child who has a strong sense of identity, a strong sense of self, a strong sense of culture — whatever that culture is — is going to do better than a child who is feeling disconnected from who they are."

There are currently 1,060 children in care in the NT.

Sorry, this video has expired Dylan Voller is shackled into a chair, officers walk out

Aboriginal communities 'sick of being consulted', want action

Ms Wakefield said child protection was difficult work, and the Government wanted to be honest and transparent about what it was doing to fix the system.

She also said the Government wanted to improve its partnerships with NGOs and Aboriginal communities.

"Aboriginal communities are sick of being consulted, they want to be part of action plans," she said.

"As a department, as whole of Government, we need to get better at working with communities, rather than doing things to communities."

The reforms needed to be driven by Aboriginal organisations, said John Paterson, CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT.

Territory Families Minister Dale Wakefield. ( ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough )

"Our child protection and youth justice systems are broken, and only fundamental, wholesale reform of the systems can improve outcomes for the Aboriginal children and young people in the NT," he said.

Danila Dilba Health Service CEO Olga Havnen said she was prepared to wait and see what costings the Government delivered at the end of the month, but acknowledged it was complex work.

"I wouldn't say I have overwhelming confidence, it is a matter of wait and see," she said.

She said there had never been a 10 to 15-year generational funding agreement with the Federal Government, and said that if they couldn't get a tripartite forum to cost and fund crucial work in the early stages, "we're in big trouble".

"One would hope there'd be much greater clarity around identification of necessary resources and investments, but I suspect … that requires the Commonwealth to come to the table on some of this as well," she said.