The South Australian Government is angry at the arrival of a group of refugees at short notice last week.

The Government is also concerned at the long-term costs of allowing more refugees into the state on new three-year temporary visas.

The Premier, Mr John Olsen, has written to the federal Immigration Minister, Mr Philip Ruddock, asking for advice on the numbers likely to be released in future from the new detention centre at Woomera, north of Adelaide.

A busload of 32 Afghan refugees were brought into Adelaide last Friday from the Port Hedland detention centre in Western Australia.

Three boys, one aged 15, the others 17, were part of the group of 32 boat people and were made wards of the state. They had travelled alone through Indonesia to Australia by boat. Under the federal Guardianship of Children Act, state authorities have to assume responsibility for unaccompanied juvenile refugees, with the costs shared between the Commonwealth and the states.

The three will be placed with foster families or put into institutional care until they turn 18.

The 29 adults from Port Hedland were taken to Centrelink to register for special benefits and Medicare. They are free to settle into the Adelaide community and after 30 months can apply for permanent residency, which gives them access to the family reunion refugee program.

A spokesman for Mr Olsen said the Premier was worried that traditional sources of settlement support such as the Migrant Resource Centre and Australian Refugee Association could not help those with temporary visas.

"They are not given the full entitlements of a genuine refugee," the spokesman said.

"The concern is that it will present the states who take these people with a potential cost."

The SA Department of Human Services, which has taken responsibility for the three minors, was told last week of the group's expected arrival.

It is believed that the Immigration Department has asked charity organisations in South Australia, including St Vincent de Paul, for help with clothing and housing.

A spokesman for Mr Ruddock, said well-established practice for refugee arrivals had been followed. If Mr Olsen had concerns, the department would be happy to discuss them, he said.

The department is trying to disperse refugees around the country to reduce pressure on accommodation and social services in Sydney and Melbourne, where large numbers of refugees are already living.

However, refugees with temporary protection visas are free to travel to Sydney or Melbourne to join established communities there.

The group that arrived in Adelaide was one of three of similar size who in recent weeks had been released from detention in WA. Most had settled in either Perth or Brisbane, with a small number choosing Tasmania.

The Woomera detention centre has about 1300 people from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, none of whose claims have yet been processed. It is not known when the first of them will be released.