A key Aboriginal justice body has urged the Western Australian government to invest more in safe accommodation for women and children in the Pilbara.

In April this year a court heard 36-year-old Indigenous woman Margaret Dale Hawke sought help from the Hedland Women's Refuge, but was turned away because the facility could not accommodate her, the night before killing her three young children in July 2022.

Ms Hawke pleaded guilty to killing the children, a 10-year-old girl, and two boys, one aged seven and the other four months before setting her home on fire. Her lawyer Alana Woldan described Ms Hawke's life as plagued by "dysfunction and difficulties", and that she had felt distress and shame over her belief she was a failure as a parent.

Aboriginal Family Legal Services chief executive Mary Corina Martin told National Indigenous Times that while the Hedland Women's Refuge offers an essential service to victims of family and domestic violence in the Pilbara region, its capacity is limited.

"On several occasions AFLS staff have attempted to refer clients to the refuge, however due to a shortage a beds and no other viable housing options, family or otherwise, clients have been required to remain at home. This is no fault of the refuge staff, who are very helpful when they have the capacity to house new women. It is a fault of the state government in Western Australia, which despite knowing the statistics around family violence in regional communities and just how over-represented Aboriginal women are as victims of violence, has failed to adequately invest in safe accommodation options for women," she said.

"More beds in crisis accommodation would greatly benefit the Hedland community, particularly given the other options in town, such as hostels, either will not accommodate children, or charge a significant nightly cost which is outside the budget of many of our clients attempting to remove themselves from domestic violence situations."

Ms Martin said AFLS would follow the progress of the new Breathing Space program in Hedland with interest.

"(The program) offers intensive support, including accommodation, for perpetrators of domestic violence. This will allow men to leave the family home to address their behavioural issues on site for approximately three-four months. An added benefit of this will be that women and children can remain in the family home," she said.

National Indigenous Times asked the Western Australian Department of Communities what had been done since the tragic deaths of Ms Hawke's children to increase the capacity of the refuge, and what would be done in the future to address unmet needs in the community.

A Department spokesperson said the WA government "has contributed total funding of $5.8 million to the Hedland Women's Refuge Inc since 2014".

"The service is operated by Hedland Women's Refuge Inc and provides 24 hour crisis accommodation to women and children who are escaping family and domestic violence. The Refuge operates five rooms for people at immediate risk or threat of harm," they said.