Katherine has a multitude of services offering everything from primary health care at Sunrise and Wurli, free legal information for women at KWILS to mental health support at Headspace.

But knowing how to access these services can sometimes be a minefield, Kalano chief executive Bill Headley said.

"The Child and Family Centre is designed to assist families so they don't have to move from Katherine to seek the provisions of services they need," he said.

At the start of this year, Katherine was identified as a priority location for a centre, after Tennant Creek.

It would be the second of 11 new centres across the Territory, as part of recommendations set out in the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the NT, tabled in parliament in 2017.

This was in addition to the existing six Child and Family Centres in Palmerston, Ngukurr, Gunbalanya, Maningrida, Yuendumu and Larapinta, taking the total number to 17.

The Commission recommended a large number of reforms including closing the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12, and "establishing a network of Family Support Centres to provide place-based services to families across the Northern Territory."

When first announced, the government said the centres would be key drivers in creating safer communities and even lead to generational change.

Through local decision making and extensive community consultations, Kalano Community Association was chosen as the organisation to run the new centre.

At the time, the chair of Wurli-Wurlinjang Health Service and Jawoyn Association Lisa Mumbin said she was encouraged by the NT Government talking to community groups about what can be achieve for the children of Katherine.

"The establishment of a Child and Family Centre for Katherine led by an Aboriginal Controlled Organisation is a fantastic opportunity for us to work together to bring about the change that we all believe in," she said.

The centre will be located on Katherine Terrace where the Rise Ventures building was previously situated. Two local case managers have been employed as well as a coordinator.

Mr Headley said while it is known there are a lot of families going without vital services simply because they don't know how to access them, the magnitude of specifics needed remains unclear.

"It is a blank sheet of paper that we can shape as we go along," he said.

"We know the first 1000 days is important in a child's development, all those things that families need and have access to in bigger cities: dentists, psychologists, primary health care, we will facilitate the family to get those services.

"But we don't know what the case load will be and we don't know what issues will need to be resolved."

He said the centre will be able to offer help to all children and families in Katherine, regardless of age, and hopefully cease families having to split up to access a needed service away from home.

"Nothing is a barrier if it makes Katherine better.

"If they are in community we will help facilitate them to get to Katherine, if they need to access a service, we will try help there too, and it will all be done with the highest confidence and cultural understanding."

The Big Rivers Child and Family Centre is expected to open in February 2020.

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