Just over a quarter of the 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees promised asylum under one of Tony Abbott's last acts as prime minister are now calling Australia home, prompting claims lives are on the line because of slow progress.

New figures released to coincide with the first anniversary of the decision reveal 3532 Syrians and Iraqis have arrived in Australia as part of the one-off commitment.

In a joint statement released by a coalition of leading humanitarian groups, World Vision chief executive Tim Costello said it was "incomprehensible" that Australia had settled a limited number of refugees.

The alliance called on the government to finish the job by March 2017.