Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says a decision on Australia's military involvement in Iraq will be made in a matter of days now Tony Abbott has returned from the United States.
The prime minister flew into Canberra on Sunday morning after attending security talks at the United Nations in New York, with the government expected to sign off on Australia's deployment this week.
RAAF Super Hornet jets are on standby in the United Arab Emirates for targeted strikes in Iraq, while a contingent of special forces is ready to advise Iraq and Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State extremists.
Ms Bishop said Defence Minister David Johnston had travelled to Baghdad over the weekend to meet the new Iraqi government to ensure the legal framework for Australian involvement was in place.
"They have some challenges - they are yet to appoint a defence minister, they are yet to appoint an interior minister," she told ABC television.
"So it's a matter of going through that process."
A meeting of the national security committee would be held this week, followed by a cabinet meeting to discuss Australia's role.
The timing of a cabinet decision would be a matter "of days", Ms Bishop said.
"Depending upon the decision of the national security committee, then it would go to cabinet for a discussion presumably during the course of this week," she said.
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