Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says changes to national security laws giving authorities more power to access encrypted messages have been reaping dividends.
"It has played a role, and a very positive role, in a number of investigations," he told Nine's Today program on Wednesday.
Three men were arrested in Sydney on Tuesday over an alleged Islamic State-inspired plot to attack police stations, consulates and churches.
Mr Dutton would not say whether the encryption laws specifically helped in that case, stressing investigators would have used various approaches.
"Obviously when we've got 200 people who are involved in the investigation, there are many elements that would have brought this to fruition."
In an effort to curb other threats, the government hopes to pass laws that will prevent foreign fighters from returning to Australia for up to two years.
But Mr Dutton says the "there is no silver bullet" to dealing with the issue.
"There are a number of ways in which we can manage people including a disruption that we saw yesterday, but we need to be realistic about the threat," he said.
"We've still got many people who are fighting overseas."
Source AAP
