IS families in Syria have booked tickets home to Australia, minister says

The government had previously said it would give no help for repatriation.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said children returning to Victoria would be asked to undertake countering violent extremism programs.

Mike Burgess, head of Australia's spy agency, said he was not 'concerned immediately' by the group's return but that they will get the agency's attention as you'd expect.

Another woman and her child arrived in Sydney shortly after the Melbourne arrival; local media identified the woman as Janai Safar, a former Sydney nursing student who travelled to Syria in 2015 and reportedly married an IS fighter.

Thirteen women and children arrived in Melbourne after years in Syria; the group reportedly includes grandmother Kawsar Abbas and her adult daughters Zeinab and Zahra Ahmed, and eight children.

Police commissioner Krissy Barratt said some of the women would be arrested and charged after arriving, with potential terrorism offences such as entering or remaining in declared areas and crimes against humanity offences such as engaging in slave trading.

The 13 women and children are part of a larger cohort of 34 believed to include wives, widows and children of IS fighters who left the camp in February but returned for technical reasons; Australia had refused to officially repatriate them.

The 13 women and children had been living in the al-Roj detention camp in Syria since 2019.

The Australian government said it had been preparing for the group's return since 2014, with long-standing plans to manage and monitor them.

France, the Netherlands, and the UK have refused to repatriate most of their citizens still held in Syria.

The larger cohort previously comprised 34 individuals, of whom 23 are believed to be children.

ASIO head Mike Burgess said Australia is not immediately concerned but the group will get attention and action may follow if concerns arise.

Children who return would undergo community integration programs, therapeutic support and countering violent extremism programs.

Barrett noted investigators have been collecting evidence for more than a decade on potential terrorism offences and crimes against humanity (such as slave trading) related to the group.

Minister Burke said there are very serious limits on what the government can do to stop a citizen returning home, and that those who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said some individuals will be arrested and charged when they arrive in Australia.

The government confirms that 13 women and children with links to Islamic State have booked tickets to return to Australia; an alert was triggered when bookings were made hours earlier.

The larger cohort living in al-Roj camp in northern Syria left the camp in February 2026 and later returned for 'technical reasons' with the Australian government refusing to officially repatriate them.

Earlier this year, Australia banned one member of the group from returning home for up to two years under a temporary exclusion order.