Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has pledged an extra $8.5 million from Australia for the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR.
Mr Dutton made the pledge during a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, addressing the resettlement of displaced Syrians.
But he has not offered any additional placements, which was one of the international conference's major goals.
Under former prime minister Tony Abbott, Australia approved plans to resettle 12,000 Syrian refugees.
So far, fewer than 30 have been processed.
Mr Dutton says Australia is working through each case carefully, but what he is not saying is what the UNHCR wants to hear -- that Australia will accept even more people.
In a speech at a refugee conference in Geneva, what he has promised is an extra $8.5 million dollars in support of the global humanitarian response.
He says his visit to camps in Jordan has underlined the pressure nations neighbouring Syria are facing.
"These countries are the first responders to the migration crisis we face. They deserve the support of the international community to meett the needs, including health, work training and study, of the significant displaced populations they host."
The importance of the meeting in Geneva has been underlined at the opening by a personal tale from United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
He was moved to recall his own experiences as a child during the Korean War, when he had to flee from his village.
Mr Ban says attempts to demonise people trying to escape conflict are offensive and counterproductive.
And he says the sooner countries increase their efforts to help them, the better.
"We are facing the biggest refugee and displacement crisis of our time. The world must rise to the challenge. Providing hope means providing pathways to a better future. Neighbouring countries have done far more than their share. Others must now step up."
Fear and political wrangling have been hampering the United Nations' efforts to resettle 10 per cent of Syrian refugees now staying in neighbouring countries by the end of 2018.
That is about 480,000 people.
Earlier this month, the European Union reached a deal with Turkey aimed at stopping the flow of migrants and refugees heading into Europe.
In return for Turkey's help, the deal called for financial and political rewards for Turkey.
But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, is demanding countries come up with additional pathways for admitting Syrian refugees.
"Our point to both Turkey and the European Union, and, in fact, to the international community, is that legal pathways for admission are a very powerful alternative to dangerous journeys, especially for vulnerable people. So, the sooner those are implemented, the more people will be discouraged from resorting to boats and other means of movement."
In the Greek capital Athens, about one-and-a-half thousand migrants and their supporters have marched to European Commission headquarters to protest against the agreement.
Under the deal, people who have reached Greece after March the 20th are to be detained and sent back to Turkey.
Protester Petros Konstadinou is demanding the Greek government consider the welfare of the tens of thousands of people who remain stranded in the country.
"We oppose this agreement. We say open the borders, no detention centres, no deportations from these countries. We say that refugees are welcome and they should get all their rights."
As migrants and refugees crowd checkpoints and makeshift camps throughout Greece, registration centres on the German-Austrian border are almost deserted.
Just over 108,000 people have entered Germany so far this year, but recent border closures and a daily cap system have slowed the flow to a trickle.
Josef Flatscher is the mayor of Germany's Freilassing municipality, which used to see almost two thousand refugees arrive every day.
(Translated) "A new rule was introduced, where 50 refugees were allowed to cross the border per hour. So, overall, 1200 refugees crossed until the beginning of February, when the Balkan route was closed. Since then, the numbers dropped drastically, almost to zero. Tonight, only three people arrived."
European Union commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos says, under a scheme established last year, more than 4,500 refugees from Syria's neighbours have been resettled in 11 EU states.
He is calling for many more.
"European member states still have a commitment to resettle the remaining 18,000 from the EU scheme. But this is not enough, and I have consistently been urging member states to resettle more. We have proposed to member states to use the 54,000 places not yet attributed under the intra-EU relocation scheme to legally and directly admit Syrian refugees from Turkey."
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