Mid North Coast Refugee Support Group president Lava Kohaupt spent seven years in Darwin working with asylum seekers and refugees and understands the importance of the federal government's Safe Haven Enterprise Visa scheme.

Under the scheme more than 30,000 eligible asylum seekers would be able to apply to reside in NSW for five years provided they live and work in a country area outside of Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.

Ms Kohaupt was confident the Hastings would be a suitable location, but felt there needed to be a strong refugee support network to make it successful long-term.

"The Port Macquarie community is becoming more multicultural and there is a willingness from people to welcome others, but you have to have the right things in place for this sort of thing to work," she said.

"There's a shortage of housing in Port Macquarie, but I have no doubt if all the right processes were put in place it could work in an area like this. It would be fantastic and would give the area a whole new dimension culturally."

She was confident the area would embrace the idea because it had the opportunity to give refugees a genuine regional experience.

"Most refugees don't realise Australia exists outside of Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne so they haven't had the full Australian experience and we can add to that.

"We want to make sure people are looked after and not taken advantage of."

She said a holiday program run by the local support group titled 'Home Among the Gumtrees' gave an indication of what could work.

It allowed refugees to undertake a two-week holiday period where they visited a location to get an idea of what life in the country was like and it had already been successful.

"We've already had people express an interest in settling in Port Macquarie permanently, but then they go back to Sydney or a major city and prefer it there."

Ms Kohaupt said the refugee group was planning on conducting a forum later in the year which would look at how ready the local area would be to take people in on refugee bridging visas.

"I have no doubt it would work here."

At the moment permanent residency is not an option, however asylum seekers will be given the chance to apply for visas if they stay off welfare for more than three years.

Refugee Council of Australia CEO Paul Power welcomed the decision by the government which he described as a "much more constructive and welcoming attitude to refugees than (Baird's) federal counterparts showed in agreeing to participate".

Under the scheme which begins on July 1, refugees will be encouraged to study and work in regional or rural areas with Mr Power expecting those to take up the scheme to do so "in significant numbers".

It is hoped the scheme will stimulate economic growth and development in 'targeted' towns facing labour shortages.

There are concerns, however, that long-term security is not guaranteed to vulnerable refugees and does not provide the requisite detail that would allow refugees or service providers information on how it can be best employed.

Ten years ago Port Macquarie-Hastings Council signed the Refugee Welcome Zone Declaration before they developed and launched a multicultural directory of services designed specifically to assist refugees and new arrivals in accessing information, support and services.

Member for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams believes the scheme is good news for regional NSW as it will help provide labour in our regions while providing longer-term security for asylum seekers.

"We know our regions are the backbone of NSW and want them to thrive as a strong contributor to NSW being Australia's economic powerhouse," she said.

"Our regions are welcoming communities historically built on migration and I am sure they will open their arms to genuine refugees who want to put in hard work."

Greens NSW MP Dr Mehreen Faruqi expressed concerns about a refugees ongoing residency as it depended on the goodwill of an employer.

"There is a real risk of exploitation of already vulnerable people," she said.

While the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa would give some work rights to refugees it was not a pathway to permanent protection.

"At the end of the five year scheme, there is still no guarantee for a permanent visa, leaving refugees in limbo," Dr Faruqi said.

"As someone who has spent a lot of time in regional areas such as Port Macquarie, I know that people have warm and generous hearts. I am sure asylum seekers will be welcomed and supported here."