Queensland councils are seeking feedback from their residents as to how many Syrian refugees they can take in.

The South Burnett Regional Council in southern Queensland wants to know if its people will accept Syrian asylum seekers into the community.

It comes after the Federal Government announced it would permanently resettle 12,000 refugees from the war-torn Middle East in Australia.

Federal Government representatives are meeting with community leaders in Canberra today to discuss resettlement plans, with the first arrivals expected before the end of the year.

The Western Downs council has called for up to 1,500 refugees to be settled there, while the Toowoomba council has expressed a desire to house a similar amount.

South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann said he wanted to know what his community wants to do.

“I've just done a call-out to the community, I didn't think that was my call to make without consultation from the community,” he told the ABC.

“I know it will be from some degree divisive but I think it's really important and I certainly figure Australia's been made a lot better because of the immigrants that have come across and made our country as great as it is today.

“I don't think it's for us to put a number on it. I think what I'd like to find out is the feedback.

“I know it won't be unanimous but if there is community support from the South Burnett region, and I hope there is, I'd just like to then go through the relevant authorities and talk to both the federal and state counterparts about what we do before we put any numbers on it.

“I would just like to get some feedback from our community.”

State and local governments nationwide are seeking feedback on the ways that they can help.

As part of the lead up to welcoming displaced masses to Australia, veteran Liberal MP Philip Ruddock has warned against “ghettoing” thousands of Syrian refugees in Sydney and Melbourne.

Many expect a majority of the 12,000 extra refugees to be resettled in the major cities, alongside the bulk of Australia's Syrian community.

But Mr Ruddock, a former immigration minister, says deciding where they should live is more complex than it seems.

“Sometimes you need to think about where communities already exist because they can be very important in supporting those who are coming,” Mr Ruddock said.

“You need to look at the way in which you can apply adequate settlement services where they are, you need to look at where the support organisations are.

“Those are factors that are going to be taken into account. I don't think it's desirable to have people ghettoing, if I can use that term, so distribution of populations is important.”