New laws that aim to stop young Australians being radicalised and taking part in wars in the Middle East are being created to protect the Islamic community, the attorney-general says.
George Brandis met with 50 Islamic leaders in Melbourne on Friday as part of a series of community consultation meetings that he said would help shape the new legislation.
He said the federal government views the Islamic community as victims of evil predators who recruit young men to fight overseas.
"It's a problem that arises particularly in the Islamic communities," Mr Brandis told reporters.
"They are being preyed upon by evil people who recruit their young men to fight in foreign wars in the Middle East and potentially to destroy themselves and cause death and harm to others.
"We are here to protect the Islamic community from those predators."
About 60 Australians are fighting in Iraq and Syria with groups like Islamic State, also known as ISIS, while another 100 are providing support from Australia.
They're almost all young men who have been recruited from within the Australian Islamic community, Mr Brandis said.
"We see their communities as being the victims of these predators and this legislation and the various other measures the government has announced is designed, at least in part, to protect their communities from these predators."
The proposals will be introduced to federal parliament in the next sitting fortnight.
The government plans to spend $64 million on its anti-terror measures, including the creation of a new Australian Federal Police team to target returning foreign fighters and their supporters.
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