Anthony Albanese hopes to act quickly on the recommendations of a report into surging youth crime and anti-social behaviour in Alice Springs.
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The prime minister appointed Dorrelle Anderson as a central Australian regional controller to review opt-in alcohol restrictions and consider if bans should be implemented.
Mr Albanese expects to receive the report before meeting on Thursday with Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles.
He has warned there is no easy fix to the problems facing the red centre which is already subject to temporary alcohol purchase restrictions.
"If there are recommendations which suggest immediate action, then I'm certainly up for it," he told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.
"I want to act as soon as possible ... but I also understand that some of these issues are intergenerational. They are not easy, off-the-shelf solutions.
"It is not just about alcohol. It is about employment, about service delivery, about getting staff on the ground. You can fund programs (but) if you don't have people to do the services, then that can create an issue as well."
Having faced calls to address similar problems in regional WA, Mr Albanese said he would take his cabinet to Port Hedland in late-February, after the Queen's death forced the postponement of a visit last year.
Ms Fyles said the alcohol bans in Alice Springs had already made a difference and all options remained on the table to address the crisis.
"I have been briefed by police and they have seen that difference on the ground," she said.
"But that is a short-term solution to provide respite to the community. We need to have long-term measures that allow us to have a safer community."
The chief minister is also calling for the federal government to step up with needs-based funding, because of the high cost of delivering rural and regional services.
A long-term central Australian alcohol management plan will be developed to deal with "complex issues" including domestic violence, unemployment and youth on the streets.
Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson says the town is at breaking point and needs help.
"We can't continue to live the way that we're living and feel like prisoners in our own home," he told Nine's Today Show.
"It's getting awfully difficult to live here. You have people who are scared to go to bed at night because they're not sure what's going to happen whilst they're asleep."
Mr Paterson said the problem needed to be highlighted on a national stage.
"People need to understand what we're living with," he said.
"It's not just about alcohol. There is so much anti-social behaviour and domestic violence going on in our community."
Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney said protecting women and children from violence was the government's priority.
The minister travelled to Alice Springs last week and will return within the next fortnight.
"There is no point coming in over the top, that does not work. It's important that you talk to the local community," she told Sky News.
"They're the people that are living in Alice Springs, they're the people that are having their lives turned upside down in many ways."
Australian Associated Press
