In brief
- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said a permit has been issued to allow an IS-linked woman to return from Syria.
- An Australian citizen, the woman is the last of the so-called "ISIS brides" still stranded abroad.
A woman with links to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group who was banned from entering Australia over potential national security risks will now be allowed to return home from Syria.
The woman, who is an Australian citizen and the last of the so-called "ISIS brides" stranded overseas, will be subject to intensive monitoring when she enters the country.
A temporary exclusion order had previously been imposed on the woman because of concerns she would pose a significant security risk, but Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government has now issued a permit for her and her child to return home.
"The temporary exclusion order applies until a permit is issued, and when a permit is requested, a permit lawfully has to be issued," he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
The woman is part of a larger group who travelled to Syria during the rise of the IS group and returned to Australia earlier in 2026, with some now facing charges regarding crimes against humanity.
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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."
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