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WA teacher lost in MH17 'touched hearts'

A Perth language teacher who perished aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has been remembered as a kindhearted woman who touched the hearts of many.

Dutch citizen Dafne Nieveen was returning to her home of four years from an education conference in the Netherlands when she boarded the doomed flight, Fairfax Media reported.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's office confirmed on Sunday that an Australian permanent resident from Western Australia was aboard the Malaysia Airlines plane when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

It takes the official MH17 death toll for those who called Australia home to 37, including 28 citizens.

It's believed this new addition to the grim tally was Ms Nieveen.

The 37-year-old Dutch citizen moved to Perth four years ago with boyfriend Werner Lupker after falling in love with Australia while travelling, Fairfax reported.

Mr Lupker, of Karrinyup, led a moving tribute to Ms Nieveen on Facebook.

"MH17 was Your Last and Final Flight Home," he wrote.

"You will never really leave us for you are everywhere that is beautiful.

"When the sun rises in the sky and sets beneath the shoreline, it shines your beauty on everything it touches."

Friends have also turned to social media to express their grief.

"Dear Dafne, I'm going to miss you terribly ... What a sick world," Twitter user Caroline Meijer wrote in Dutch.

Perth woman Claire Geoff Westwood said she felt "so proud" to count Ms Nieveen as a friend.

"Daf will be loved and missed always, she touched so many people with her beautiful heart, she is a one of a kind," she wrote on Facebook.