Perched on top of the Great Dividing Range, Toowoomba sits in the clouds and is a city on the move.

It is nestled among one of the fastest growing regions in the country.

The Queensland city's economy is set to double in the next 15 years to $20 billion as its population pushes towards a quarter of a million.

Cranes reach skywards, while roads grow wider.

An obvious foundation for this growth is Toowoomba's immigrant population.

Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Sudan - refugees from the world's trouble spots have made their way to a small city in a foreign land in search of safety and opportunity.

"My dad left Iraq because there were a lot of dangerous places out there and there were a lot of bombs and it was so dangerous for us to stay there. He was scared that people could kill us."

Hadeer is just about to turn 12.

She speaks English fluently, despite not knowing a word when she arrived in Toowoomba with her family three years ago.

She translates for her father, who feels uncomfortable speaking a language he has struggled to learn.

"He felt so happy when we found out we were coming to Australia and to see the freedom that he'd never seen before," she said.

Ahmed Mohammed Jaber Al-Rashid is determined to give his wife and six children a better life.

He wants a job so the family can live independently.

He is training to be fork lift driver but he has a bad back.

However, he feels his biggest obstacle in finding a job is his poor English.

"If a person knows English really well they'll find a job fast. My friends also find it difficult because they don't know any English," Hadeer said.

While Ahmed struggles, his kids are succeeding.

His eldest son is intent on working in IT, his 15-year-old daughter Gadeer wants to be a teacher while Hadeer aspires to be a doctor.

"After a while we went to Darling Heights School and we made friends and now we know English we feel happy now," Hadeer said.

Newly arrived refugees in Toowoomba often visit the Multicultural Development Association for support. ( ABC News )

Refugees welcomed with open arms

Most refugees who have been resettled in Toowoomba arrive with a skill, which may be of no use here.

At the Multicultural Development Association (MDA), where newly arrived refugees call in for support, a group of women discuss their prospects.

Three are seamstresses. They agree that they must adapt and learn if they are to make a go of it here.

But local businesses are also doing their part.

The MDA has a 'Work and Welcome' program, where staff donate a small proportion of their salary so that a new arrival can get some work experience for a few weeks.

And it has real outcomes with close to 90 per cent of participants landing a job soon afterwards.

Janviere Dusabinema now works as a retail assistant.

"First when I came it was difficult because I felt lonely. I didn't know much about anything," she said.

Janviere fled Rwanda and spent years in a refugee camp in Kenya before being resettled in Australia.

She arrived in Toowoomba three years ago as a single mother of four.

"Toowoomba is small, but it is safe and I am lucky."

Outside of work, Janviere offers help to recently arrived refugees.

She said the feeling of isolation could be overwhelming and was often compounded by existing trauma.

This she said can quickly lead to loneliness.

For the local community it is a challenge that is growing.

'Toowoomba's regional development is phenomenal'

This week the Queensland Government announced it was prepared to resettle 3,500 Syrian refugees over the next few months.

Many will follow in the footsteps of Ahmed and his family and make their new home in Toowoomba.

Peter Forday, the grandson of an immigrant, is the deputy chairman of the Multicultural Development Association in Queensland.

The economy of Toowoomba in southern Queensland is tipped to double in 15 years. ( ABC TV - file image )

He thinks Toowoomba is ideally placed to accommodate more refugees.

"The regional development that's happening in Toowoomba is phenomenal. I understand the economic growth will double over next few years so the nature of the region is changing," he said.

"It has an international airport now that changes the nature of the city and the region, so I guess it's becoming more of a gateway to the world and having a more diverse population is going to be important.

"Also, it has a population that is willing and able to take the many positions that are going to be needed to be filled."

Yet, the city is still too small for some with ambition, such as Ahmed's 19-year-old son Mohammed.

"It's a bit boring because there's nothing to do here, nowhere to go and I cannot see a lot of people here," he said.

However, for a father in search of a future for his family, Toowoomba is good place to call home.