A family of five from Syria who will be settled as part of Australia’s additional 12,000 intake of refugees are expected touch down in Perth earlier than had been expected.
Social services minister Christian Porter told the ABC the family from Homs, in western Syria, will arrive in the WA capital on Tuesday.
The arrival is earlier than the expected December arrival of refugees as part of the increased humanitarian intake because of slight medical concerns.
He said the family of two adults and three children had been through a slow but rigorous screening process.
“Some would say very, very slow -- but very, very thorough,” Mr Porter told the ABC.
“It has all the level of stringency that occurs for all humanitarian and refugee arrivals… the family has been through a great deal.”
“They’ve spent very long periods of time in refugee camps as a result of the Syrian civil war. They’ve been through a lot.”
Comment has been sought from Mr Porter's office.
Refugee support groups in NSW have told the Huffington Post Australia the character checks on refugees are taking longer than expected, but they are preparing for the intake to begin in December.
On Monday NSW MP Andrew Fraser called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to close the country’s borders.
Immigration minister Peter Dutton quickly shot down the idea when asked if he was considering Mr Fraser’s demand, but said the government would not compromise on national security.
“We want to make sure we know who is coming. We are not going to compromise on that,” Mr Dutton told Channel 7.