An Australian woman, previously barred from entering the country due to potential security threats and her association with the self-declared Islamic State (IS), will now be allowed to return home from Syria.
This Australian national, known as the last of the so-called “ISIS brides” trapped abroad, will undergo stringent surveillance upon her return to Australia.
A temporary exclusion order had been placed on her due to fears she might present a serious security threat. However, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced that the government has now granted her and her child a permit to re-enter the country.
“The temporary exclusion order remains until a permit is issued, and when one is requested, it is legally mandated that it must be granted,” Burke explained to ABC Radio on Thursday.
She is among a group who traveled to Syria during IS’s ascent and returned to Australia earlier in 2026, with several members now facing charges related to crimes against humanity.
Advocates for the cohort say some were coerced into travelling but others went knowingly into the terrorism hot zone.
In February, Burke imposed an exclusion order of up to two years on the final woman in the cohort, who left her home in western Sydney in 2015 and travelled to Syria.
The government will monitor where the woman lives, works, studies and travels, and she will need to give 24-hour notice before using any telecommunications device or logging on to social media.
“There will be a very high level of scrutiny and surveillance, and we have gone absolutely to the legal limit that we’re able to,” Burke said.
ASIO boss Mike Burgess confirmed his agency was involved in the process of approving the woman’s return, and said he was satisfied authorities were prepared.
“The full use of my organisation’s capability and powers will be used when this individual returns to this country,” he told ABC Radio.
“When there are Australians who have been overseas in places like Syria and Iraq who represent security concerns, we assess them, we know the level of risk, and anyone who’s considered a high or medium risk gets my agency’s full attention,” Burgess said.
Opposition defence spokesperson James Paterson said the government had failed at every turn to manage the issue and protect the Australian community.
“It was a rather tortured explanation from the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, about why this wasn’t his fault,” he told Sky News.
“The bottom line is the Albanese Labor government has issued a return permit to a member of ISIS, an affiliate of ISIS to return to our country, who was previously blocked from returning to our country.”