Ms Muminovic is one of thousands of people who have come to Australia through its humanitarian visa program. While much attention is focused on the long and often frightening journey many people go through to reach safety - and the social and economic benefits migrants have brought to Australia - little is known about how they adapt to not only a new country, but also a new lifestyle.

A study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, called Building a New Life in Australia, surveyed the lives of about 2400 people who came to Australia on humanitarian visas after fleeing their home countries because of trauma or persecution.

Among the positive outcomes are that new migrants report improvements in their health and 70 per cent are working or studying, mostly learning English. Up to 90 per cent of those surveyed said they had so far had a "very good" or "good" experience living in Australia.

However, migrants also reported many hurdles to securing housing, with 75 per cent finding it "hard" or "very hard" to rent a property, because of cost, language problems and a lack of local references.

Of those surveyed, 89 per cent had experienced at least one traumatic event in their home country, such as war, religious or political persecution, violence, kidnapping, natural disaster and extreme living conditions. Many spent time in refugee camps before arriving in Australia.