Women in Indigenous communities are intentionally committing crimes so they can be locked up to escape their violent partners, a Senate inquiry has heard.

Speaking in Darwin at the inquiry into the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, Caitlin Weatherby-Fell from the Top End Women's Legal Service was asked about the organisation's clients.

The panel noted that solicitors worked with "women who intentionally offend as to so be imprisoned to have a refuge from a violent partner".

"It is not irregular for clients to present and say the reason I'm here is because I broke that window while I was on bail because I knew I wouldn't be safe [at home]," Ms Weatherby-Fell said.

The Senate inquiry has been held to investigate the quality of the Federal Government's Indigenous Advancement Strategy tendering process.

Representatives from several of the Territory's Aboriginal legal groups told the inquiry they were stretched for resources and plagued by uncertainty about their funding arrangements.

Melanie Warbrooke from the Top End Women's Legal Service said it had been challenging for her group to find out where services were needed because little information was provided by the Government.

Principal legal officer at NAAJA Jonathon Hunyor said his group's lawyers were overworked and underpaid, which prevented Aboriginal people in remote communities from having equal access to justice.

"There's something deeply frustrating and almost exhausting about having to go over these issues again," he said, referring to the need for adequate funding.

"I feel like I change my tie and I say the same thing every year or so."

Several legal groups told the inquiry their workloads had increased, but funding had failed to keep pace with inflation or the extra work.