Authorities should consider whether foreign fighters are able to lawfully stay in their current location or another country before being banned from returning to Australia, a parliamentary committee says.
Under the proposal introduced to federal parliament in February, Australian foreign fighters who want to return home could be blocked from entering the country for up to two years by a ministerial decision.
The minister could revoke the exclusion order to allow someone to enter Australia under a return permit, which may include conditions relating to when and how the person enters the country.
A joint parliamentary committee has scrutinised the bill and made 18 bipartisan recommendations to the government.
These include considering an individual's circumstances, enhancing protections for children and introducing transparency and oversight mechanisms.
Committee member and shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus on Wednesday urged Attorney-General Christian Porter to ensure the legislation is constitutional, after concerns were raised during the inquiry.
Government departments have not refuted this concern, he told the lower house.
The Law Council fears the bill is unconstitutional, with the group's president Arthur Moses describing it as "embarrassing" and a "dog's breakfast".
The committee also recommended that temporary exclusion orders should only be issued by a judicial authority such as a judge, on application by the minister.
Authorities should only block people from returning to Australia for as long as is reasonably necessary to assess the threat they pose and make arrangements for their return, the committee says.
