Some of the Australian women linked to Islamic State fighters face arrest and criminal charges on their return from Syria this week, with the government and federal police promising a hardline response when the group touches down.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed that the government was aware that four Australian women and nine of their children had begun the journey home, after more than a decade of planning by a joint Asio and Australian federal police counter-terrorism taskforce.
Their arrivals, via flights from Doha, are expected on Thursday.
The government insists it has provided no assistance to the group, who were among a larger group of 34 Australian women and their children who had been stuck in al-Roj camp in northern Syria for several years, since the territorial collapse of Islamic State.
Australian citizens cannot legally be prevented from returning to the country unless a formal exclusion order is in place. Burke has issued a single order to prevent one woman in Syria from returning, based on Asio advice about a national security risk.
On Wednesday morning the government was alerted to the planned departure of a group of 13 who left al-Roj and travelled to Damascus last month. They all hold Australian passports.
“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” Burke said.
“As we have said many times – any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law.”
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the group would not receive any assistance.
“These are people who have made what is a horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an extraordinary situation,” Albanese said.
“As we’ve said many times, any members of this cohort who have committed crimes can expect to face the full force of the law, and that will occur.”
The AFP commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said some of the adults in the group faced arrest and possible charges when they arrived in Australia, while the children would be required to take part in an anti-extremist program. They would also receive psychological support.
She would not disclose how many of the adults faced arrest, due to operational considerations by police.
Behind-the-scenes planning for the group’s return has been under way for 10 years, including a community liaison team working with affected local communities.
“Operational planning for the return of these individuals started in 2015,” Barrett said. “The joint counter-terrorism teams … include some of the most experienced national security investigators and analysts in this country.”
Asio’s director general, Mike Burgess, said advice about the group had been provided to policing agencies. “The government understands our assessed risk,” he said.
“It’s up to them what they do when they get here. If they start to exhibit signs of concern, we and the police, through the joint counter-terrorism teams, will take action.
“I’m not concerned immediately by their return but they’ll get our attention, as you expect.”
Despite Burgess’s comments, the shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, claimed the government had “actively failed to safeguard” Australians from a security risk.
“If indeed any members of this cohort are set to be arrested, how is it in Australia’s national interest to allow them to return,” he said. “How will Labor protect Australians from these terrorist affiliates and at what cost?”
The group began their second attempt to travel home to Australia last month after a much larger cohort was turned back by Syrian authoritiesin February. Syrian authorities were taking the group to Damascus, amid international pressure for countries to take back foreign fighters stuck in the camp.
The US has pushed countries including Australia to repatriate citizens who had travelled to the Middle East to join the IS caliphate but the issue has dogged successive governments.
Under Albanese, Labor had supported bringing the families home as recently as 2022 but the politics surrounding the return of the group has dramatically shifted since the December shootings at Bondi Beach.
Albanese has refused to help in any way, saying the adults had “made their bed” and should suffer the consequences of their actions.
