About 1000 boat people will soon be sent to Shepparton, according to refugees who arrived in the central Victorian town last Friday from a detention centre in Western Australia.

News of the impending arrivals came from 16 Iraqi and Syrian boat people granted temporary refugee status.

About 100 refugees have arrived in Shepparton so far this year and if another 1000 arrive soon, it will stretch already limited resources. The latest arrivals are living in unfurnished houses in Shepparton without adequate food or basic necessities.

"A lot of refugees are coming here without resources and, whether they arrived (in Australia) illegally or otherwise, they are here in our community and they are living in Third World conditions," said the City of Greater Shepparton's Mayor, Cr Chris Hazelman.

"It is not a case of passing the buck and saying it's a federal, state or local government issue, but collectively, there needs to be a solution to the problem and a fairly significant injection of funds to meet the immediate needs."

There are now more than 3000 Iraqi refugees living in the Shepparton region. Many were convinced this was a prosperous area, despite warnings from the Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District that there were not enough houses and other resources.

Two workers at the ethnic council, responsible for all migrants in the region, said they were unable to meet many of the refugee's needs.

The workers, Mr Morrie Ramadan and Dr Abdul-Hadi Abd, said refugees arriving at Shepparton usually came with nothing except a suitcase and received aid from the ethnic council, Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul Society.

Housing was not guaranteed as demand outstripped supply.

The workers said the Community Refugee Support Scheme grant to refugees who entered Australia legally (intended to provide basic necessities) can take up to three months to be paid and income support for illegal and legal refugees can take up to one month, backdated to their arrival date. Until this money is paid, refugees in Shepparton and Cobram rely on credit, charity and help from the Iraqi refugee community.