A trip to Jakarta was an important milestone for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese but for someone behind the scenes, it mattered even more.

9News cameraman Ghaith Nadir left Indonesia as a refugee 11 years ago, and this week returned to cover the prime minister's official visit.

The Iraqi-Australian said he had "mixed emotions" about going back to the country where he spent four years as a refugee, waiting for resettlement.

READ MORE: Australian and Chinese defence ministers hold landmark meeting

He went back this time for work, to capture Albanese's visit.

"The thing is when I lived in Indonesia, we didn't know what our future would be like," he said.

"Going back as a cameraman representing the PM of Australia, it was really special to me."

Ghaith fled Iraq with his family when he was 14, after losing friends in a bombing near his school.

In asylum accommodation, the five members of the Nadir family shared two small rooms.

Ghaith and his family finally arrived in Melbourne in 2011.

"All I wanted was a better life, a normal, happy life for me and my family," he said.

And now he's a man who has achieved more than he ever imagined possible.