People who leave Australia to fight with terror groups in the Middle East are committing a modern form of treason and deserve a modern form of banishment, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
The government will introduce legislation to parliament on Wednesday to block the return of dual citizens suspected of terrorism and deport court-convicted terrorists from Australia.
"There will be judicial review and I am sure there will be all sorts of pro bono lawyers who will be rushing to help the first person for whom this takes place," Mr Abbott told the Nine Network.
Mr Abbott said those signing up to join terrorist armies had forfeited their rights to be considered Australian.
"Stay there, you like it so much stay there. We don't want you back," he said.
He confirmed the draft laws, to be introduced to parliament on Wednesday, were not retrospective but that option would be considered by parliament's joint intelligence and security committee.
Opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles said the government had proceeded with a "sensible" update to the Citizenship Act and Labor would work constructively with the government, including on whether the legislation should apply retrospectively.
He called on the government to share its legal advice on the constitutionality of the legislation.
"After months of division on the part of the government, after cabinet leaks, cabinet splits, proposals from the government about stripping citizenship from sole Australian nationals, we now see that this debate has ended up where it began," he told reporters in Canberra.
"This is a position which from the outset labor has supported."
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