Counter-terrorism squads will continue to screen travellers at Australian airports because the threat of terrorism is growing, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says.
More than 400 travellers are stopped and questioned every day as part of a crackdown on Australians heading overseas to fight with extremists.
The special units, in operation at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Cairns, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Darwin airports, assessed almost 76,000 people between August and February.
"This threat continues to increase and it's a real menace," Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told Fairfax Radio in Brisbane on Monday.
The assessments involve Customs officers asking "persons of interest" a series of questions to determine their risk to national security and whether further action is required.
Critics say it amounts to racial profiling.
But Customs maintains its officers act in accordance with the law and respect cultural sensitivities.
Officers screen all inbound and outbound passengers and use a range of indicators to determine which passengers are questioned.
Earlier in March, authorities intercepted two teenage brothers at Sydney airport who they believed were planning to join fighting in the Middle East.
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