Taking an extra 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq will strain Australia's resettlement services but the federal government believes the nation is up to the job.
Refugees who came to Australia on humanitarian visas were largely still reliant on welfare up to six months after they arrived, new government data shows.
But Social Services Minister Scott Morrison says that reflects the complex nature of helping people who've been caught up in war or other strife.
"You don't just bring them all on one big plane and put them in a tent and then say, `Good luck'," he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
Nearly two in five of those who came to Australian on humanitarian visas in 2013 didn't speak any English before they arrived, the longitudinal study found.
Almost half had never held a paid job and more than one in seven hadn't been to school at all.
Many had been displaced from their homes for years.
"It's tough to move from that environment into a country like Australia and to be able to get on your feet quickly," Mr Morrison said.
It was vital the government help refugees to improve their language skills, settle into the community and find employment.
After three to six months in Australia, 88 per cent of refugees surveyed said welfare was their main form of income.
But the research also found the majority of refugees had enrolled in English classes in that time.
More than four in five said their overall experiences had been good or very good and they felt welcome in Australia.
Recent Bureau of Statistics data found that, over time, people who came to Australia on humanitarian visas were the most likely to have their own small businesses out of all types of migrants.
The federal government has decided to take an extra 12,000 refugees, on top of the annual intake of 13,750, from camps in countries around Syria and Iraq in response to the growing crisis in the region.
Mr Morrison said it would be a tough job to help them all settle in without putting too much strain on services.
In particular, the government needed to think about where they will live so the extra demand for services doesn't undermine what those refugees already in Australia can access.
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