Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 12 minutes 21 seconds 12 m Professor Peter Shergold discusses the NSW Government's new refugee assistance website ( 702 ABC Sydney: Linda Mottram ) Download 5.7 MB

New South Wales residents looking for a way to help resettle Syrian refugees can register on a new website to be part of the local solution to a global crisis.

A government website was launched today to invite the public to help resettle an extra 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees expected to arrive in Australia.

NSW Refugee Resettlement co-ordinator general professor Peter Shergold — who was recently appointed to the role by Premier Mike Baird — said individuals, businesses and community organisations could help those suffering.

Professor Shergold told 702 ABC Sydney while existing resettlement programs were successful, there were ongoing negotiations about extra resources.

The new website followed a groundswell of public sympathy in Australia for the millions of people fleeing violence in the Middle East in an attempt to enter European nations.

As Australian immigration officials start the selection process in the Middle East, Professor Shergold said he expected arrivals by the end of 2015 and into the first half of 2016.

"There is a great up-swell of understanding and sympathy for what is going on in Iraq and Syria and we need to build on that," Professor Shergold said.

He said while education and trauma services would be critical, the overall aim was to help new arrivals "get on their feet" as soon as possible.

"When refugees come here the last thing they want is to be dependent on welfare," he said.

"Many of these people who will be coming as refugees will be trained as chemists and engineers and managers and we need to make sure they can build lives here.

"Refugees are risk takers, they are innately entrepreneurial. Our aim is in the settlement services is helping them get on their feet as quickly as they can.

"Obviously English language and education is at the core of that."