The housing system in Aboriginal communities across the Kimberley is failing, according to Kimberley Community Legal Services chief executive Matt Panayi, as a new Western Australian Auditor General report exposes widespread problems in public housing maintenance.

The audit found that 85 per cent of repairs are reactive rather than planned, maintenance costs have risen 44 per cent since 2019, and contractor overcharging remains common.

Mr Panayi said the report reflects what tenants in the Kimberley have been saying for years; families are left in overcrowded or unsafe conditions while houses sit empty, and repairs are delayed.

In Balgo, a remote Aboriginal community 215 kilometres south-east of Halls Creek, a KCLS client went without hot water for eight months despite repeated reports to the housing authority, Mr Panayi said.

KCLS says another client in Broome was charged $1,550 to slash overgrown grass, despite private companies quoting the work at just $200 to $300.

The Auditor General has urged WA's Department of Housing and Works to improve data collection, reduce delays in turning around vacant homes, and tackle systemic overcharging by contractors.

Though Mr Panayi says the government must go further, calling for a regionally led model that gives Aboriginal communities a stronger role in how housing maintenance is delivered.

"Local voices must be at the centre of the solution," he said.

"Without change, the cycle of poor maintenance and rising costs will continue to harm the people public housing is meant to support."

Responding to the report, the state's Housing Minister, John Carey, said more than 2,000 public and regional officer housing properties had been refurbished across WA since 2020.

He said delays in re-letting homes were often due to complex works, including long-term tenancies or significant property damage.

"In some cases, someone may have lived in a property for many years, or there may have been damage that requires major repairs," Mr Carey said.

Mr Carey also pointed to challenges sourcing key trades workers in remote areas, and said rising construction costs since 2019 had affected both the public and private rental markets.

The department, he added, classifies maintenance requests by urgency, with many flagged as priority jobs.

KCLS plans to release its own report next year, drawing on tenant surveys, case studies and community consultations, with recommendations for reform specific to the Kimberley.