Sydney, Melbourne most likely re-settlement location for Syrian refugees

The majority of the 12,000 Syrian refugees Australia has accepted will be settled in Sydney and Melbourne if the current humanitarian model is to be accepted, with the first arrivals expected before Christmas.

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird has suggested the state take a proportional number, approximately 4,000 refugees, News Corp reported on Thursday, however Baird has not ruled out Sydney offering to take up to 7,000.

Baird has claimed that the NSW government was prepared to do more if needed, despite concerns resettlement services as well as housing, health and education are already under strain.

Figures released by Australia's Department of Social Services last week show Sydney is the most generous city in the country, accounting for 60 percent of the resettlement program for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Authorities however are also keen on ensuring a percentage of Syrian refugees arriving into Australia will live in rural and regional areas.

Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Social Services told Australia's national broadcaster Thursday's meeting of Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council with community and government stakeholders will focus on arranging the complex logistical exercise.

"Whilst we've got a very well-oiled machine in terms of the logistics, the meeting is really important because of the goodwill that's been expressed," Fierravanti-Wells told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"Because we're seeking to do this in a relatively short period of time, we need to work with community groups, we need to work with other organizations in terms of some of those logistics."

The meeting on Thursday will also explore the possibility of home-stay type accommodation for refugees as is being pursued in Europe and advocated by Pope Francis of the Catholic Church. Endi