This school maintains research facilities and provides opportunities for post-graduate studies specialising in Aboriginal health and tropical medicine at Royal Darwin Hospital.

Construction of an 89-bed hospital fronting Mitchell Street West, at Myilly Point in Larrakeyah commenced in 1941 to cater for the Darwin area population of 4,000.

By 1970, the facilities were struggling to cope with the demands of the growing population and a site was selected for a second hospital on Rocklands Drive in the planned new suburb of Tiwi.

[6] In the interest of reducing time and costs, a design by architects Stephenson and Son of Melbourne was chosen, based on the new Woden Valley Hospital in Canberra with modifications to suit the tropical climate.

During 2003, The Royal Darwin Hospital underwent a $43 million major redevelopment that included construction of a new Emergency Department and an expanded Intensive Care Unit.

[11] In 2016, the hospital made international news, attracting criticism when Indigenous musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu attended the Emergency Department while vomiting blood.

The artist had been advised to remain in Darwin near the hospital rather than returning to his home at Galiwin'ku due to a flare up in symptoms related to a Hepatitis B infection by his kidney specialist.

[12] The incident saw allegations of institutional racism and profiling levelled against the hospital's staff by both Gurrumul's manager, and specialist Dr Paul Lawton when it emerged that notes on his medical chart may have indicated that the condition was related to alcohol abuse.

Elferink asserted that questions about consumption of alcohol are a normal and necessary part of the diagnostic process for any patient presenting for medical treatment, in line with the hospital's policies.