The Victorian Government is pushing for Puckapunyal army base to be used to house Syrians fleeing war, but it would not be the first time the barracks has provided shelter to desperate people seeking protection.

The offer from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews comes as the Federal Government agreed to accept 12,000 refugees from persecuted minorities fleeing the conflict in Syria and Iraq.

While it is unclear when the full increase will happen, in a letter to Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Mr Andrews said Victoria "stands ready" to help house and re-settle people displaced by the conflict.

"Victoria has a long and proud history of welcoming migrants from around the world, to make their home and raise their families," he said.

The base is the same place where hundreds of desperate East Timorese took shelter 16 years ago and where Kosovar people made it their temporary home, also in the 1990s.

A crowd of East Timorese people wave at Puckapunyal Safe Haven, in 1999. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

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Peter Mares, an adjunct research fellow at the Institute for Social Research at Swinburne University, described how, in 1999, years of Indonesian military rule was coming to an end, and disaster was unfolding in Dili.

"The Timorese who were evacuated to Australia were caught up in the UN compound in Dili, after the referendum on independence in East Timor," he said.

"Indonesian troops started basically ransacking the country and destroying everything before they withdrew, and attacking East Timorese civilians.

"A lot Timorese fled to the hills and so on, but there were people - women and children and other people who couldn't leave Dili - and staff of the UN compound who were holed up in the compound ... that group was evacuated to Australia."

Once they arrived, the East Timorese were given safe haven visas, which were short-term visas while the waited for the situation to improve in their homeland.

"People at Puckapunyal could come and go, they weren't locked up or detained, however they were given a very small living allowance - around $27 per week per adult, plus $10 per week, per child," Mr Mares said.

"So it was really like a hostel where they stayed, and if they went out of Puckapunyal it was likely to have been organised by local volunteers or the East Timorese community, who made sure there were activities."

An East Timorese boy looks at a book in a classroom at the Puckapunyal Safe Haven. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

A man seated outside a prefabricated building in Puckapunyal, while another East Timorese man cuts his hair. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

Mr Mares said the Government was coming under similar public pressure to assist those in need in 1999, as they have been over the streams of people fleeing Syria.

"Kids talking to their politician parents over Sunday dinner, saying dad or mum, we've got to do something," he said.

"It's the same sort of pressure that we've seen recently in relations to Syria, backbenchers saying to the Prime Minister and Immigration Minister, 'look, we've got to do more'.

"Similar sort of things happened with the Kosovars and the East Timorese."

An East Timorese girl looks over the food counter at Puckapunyal meal hall. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

But Mr Mares said the visas they were on were limited and it was very clear they would not be here long term.

"So people weren't detained as such, they were in Australia on these visas, but the visas were in themselves quite restrictive, they didn't allow people, for example, to apply for another sort of visa," he said.

Mr Mares said while the East Timorese were in need of temporary protection, the Kosovars who were housed at Puckapunyal and other sites around the country, were in need of more prolonged assistance.

"With East Timor, it was people caught in the compound, but with the Kosovars it was more like what we're seeing now in Europe, where you had huge numbers of people fleeing out of Kosovo to uncertain and dangerous conditions," he said.

"So there was a really sense of urgency, and other countries were also resettling people on temporary visas."

The dining hall at Puckapunyal featured a large sign in Tetum, which read "Diak Kalae" - 'how are you', in English. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

East Timorese woman sitting holding her baby on the steps of her accommodation at Puckapunyal Safe Haven. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Andrews said Victoria had "some of Australia's best regarded" settlement services, with years of skills and experience".

"To this end, I would encourage the Federal Government to consult with Victoria and the settlement agencies in developing any arrangements," he said.

"This may include the temporary housing of refugees in Defence facilities, such as Puckapunyal army base, before they are settled in the wider community."

Alexandrino Da Costa, an East Timorese refugee, surrounded by East Timorese children at Puckapunyal. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

An East Timorese woman disembarks from a bus at Puckapunyal. ( State Library of Victoria: Ross Bird )

Mr Mares said if Puckapunyal was to be used to house Syrian asylum seekers, it should only be for a short time.

"I think if it's clear that it is a temporary stay, while people are kind of maybe given health checks, and explained about Australian life and how Centrelink works, and given options about where they might want to move to and what sort of jobs are available," he said.

"The concern would be if we're putting people in Puckapunyal so we can control them, so we can keep them at arm's distance, so we can limit who interacts with them - whether they talk to journalists or lawyers - that would be the wrong motivation.

"The use of Puckapunyal has to be a temporary, like migrant hostel-type approach, where it's clear that people are going to be moved out into the community, so they can rebuild their lives."