The first Syrian family to be resettled in Australia as part of the Federal Government's additional humanitarian intake have called on the Government to speed up the resettlement process.

Key points: Canada has already resettled 26,000 Syrian refugees

Canada has already resettled 26,000 Syrian refugees Australia's resettlement program will take another 12 months to complete

Australia's resettlement program will take another 12 months to complete Social Services Minister says Australia's assessment process is the best in the world

Last September, the Federal Government announced it would accept 12,000 extra refugees affected by conflict in Syria and Iraq.

The first of those refugees, the Kujah family, arrived in Perth just weeks later, brought forward so the heavily-pregnant mother Khawlah could give birth in Australia.

That baby is now six months old.

The Immigration Department was unable to provide 7.30 with exact figures, but only around 300 Syrian refugees have been resettled in Australia since the announcement.

The baby's father Bashar Kujah said he was grateful for all the support his family had received but he worried about those still languishing in refugee camps.

"I'd like to ask them to speed up the process because the people there, the Syrian people there are living very difficult lives," he said.

"They don't have the rights to work and so their lifestyle is quite difficult.

"The more they can speed up the process of them coming, the more they'd appreciate it."

Social Services Minister Christian Porter admitted the process had been slower than anticipated.

"It's been a slow start but it's certainly picking up pace at this stage now and we'll expect pretty much significant growth from here on a weekly basis," he said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 6 minutes 22 seconds 6 m First Syrian refugees call on Government to speed up resettlement process

While Canada has already reached its target of resettling more than 26,000 Syrian refugees, Christian Porter said Australia's resettlement program won't be completed for at least 12 months.

"Every country applies a different standard and we don't measure ourselves by the Canadian standard or any other standard," he said.

"We believe that our assessment process is the best in the world, the most stringent, the fairest, and it produces people that will be coming to Australia who are going to make fantastic citizens.

"That does mean that our processes are sometimes slower than other nations but we think that that's the appropriate response."

Bashar Kujah with three of his children, Maryam, Ahmad and Mohammed, at the beach in Perth. ( Lauren Day )

First refugee family thriving in new home

The Kujah family are from the city of Homs - once a centre of culture and commerce before it became a centre of conflict.

Mr Kujah said they used to consider it to be "heaven on earth".

"As a result of the war, I felt that the education system went downhill, the health system," he said.

"As a father, I felt that I had to protect my children, my family and get them out to a better place and so I just thought 'this is the time that I need to get out', and we left."

The family spent around 18 months in a refugee camp in Jordan before being granted a visa to come to Australia last November.

They arrived just weeks before Khawlah Kujah gave birth

"I was very afraid because I would have to have a caesarean for the baby and I know it's very expensive (in Jordan) to have a caesarean and we couldn't possibly afford it," she said.

"When we first got the news that we'd be going to Australia and the minister would go to give us the visa, I was just ecstatic, I couldn't believe it."

Mr Kujah said he was relieved but also nervous.

Peter Dutton shakes Bashar Kujah's hand after telling him his family would be the first Syrian refugees accepted under the new Australian program.

"Before we came we were very scared about how it was going to be and the transition would be very difficult but when we got here, we received that warm welcome and everything just felt very familiar," he said.

"It really reminds me of how Syria used to be.

"I walk through the streets of Australia and I'm taken back to the memories of Syria and how it was."

Mr Kujah - a butcher by trade - has already been offered a job at Harvey Beef.

The oldest children, Maryam and Mohammed, are learning English and baby Abdullah is thriving.

Mrs Kujah hopes she'll one day be able to visit a peaceful Syria.

"We will tell him that we come from Syria and that it used to be such a beautiful place," she said.

"I really hope for a great future for my children, I would like them to get used to the lifestyle here and ... give back to the Australian public, to the Australian Government, as it's given them the opportunity."