Coalition MPs have sought assurances that the mission in Iraq won't be a long-term commitment and returning soldiers will be treated well.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has outlined to the coalition joint party room the government's approach to tackling Islamic State extremists in Iraq.
During the meeting, Mr Abbott opened it up to any MPs to raise any concerns they had with the government's approach to the mission.
One MP supported the deployment but said the public would be unwilling to accept a long-term military commitment.
Another MP, whose son fought in the 2003 Iraq war, was critical of the returning soldiers' treatment at that time and sought assurances that the latest veterans would receive proper benefits and care.
Mr Abbott told the party room the government had yet to commit military forces gathered in the United Arab Emirates to a mission in Iraq but "events are hastening".
He said there were risks and dangers but the government was clear in its goals - to ensure IS is denied any bases from which to attack and to stop avoidable genocide.
The mission was not about trying to establish a liberal democracy in Iraq but to assist Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga.
While Mr Abbott said the West had been slow to respond to the rise of IS, he praised US President Barack Obama for being "rightly" slow to reach for the gun.
The prime minister said despite all the efforts in dealing with national security issues, the government was not "taking its eye off the economic ball".
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