A group of ISIS-linked women and children returning from Syrian refugee camps walks past members of the media in Melbourne, Australia, on May 7, 2026. William West/AFP via Getty Images
Opposition Home Affairs spokesperson, Jonno Duniam, has committed the Coalition to working with the Labor government to amend laws so Australians with links to ISIS can be stopped from returning home.
On June 25, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed he had to issue a permit for the return of ISIS “bride” Hodan Abby—an Australian woman in Syria with links to ISIS.
She was previously subject to a temporary exclusion order (TEO) which stopped her boarding a flight home from Damascus in May.
Abby was later reported to have disappeared inside the Syrian prison system with her young daughter, who is believed to have serious injuries.
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“If the government does believe that this individual should be excluded from the country for a longer period, then let’s work together to strengthen those laws,” he said.
“Of course, there may well be legal challenges, but we’re open to working with the government on that,” he added.
“I’d rather the individual not be here … This is a person who is not a friend of our country. This is a person who turned their back on Australia.”
Burke has moved to reassure people that Honan would be subject to a number of conditions upon her return, including having to report to police, having to share her address, where she works or studies, and a mandatory 24-hour notice period before using any telecommunications device or social media.
Honan received an Australian passport early this year and has now received the permit, so is free to return to Australia at any time.
“This government has always had an excuse about why they can’t protect Australians from this cohort of high-risk people who are allegedly affiliated with ISIS and some of whom, on their return to Australia, have been charged with extremely serious offences, crimes against humanity, human trafficking,” he said.
“I mean, these are not good people who we want to have in our country. And I would be more convinced when the government has excuses like this if, from the start of this crisis, they’d shown they’re willing to do whatever it takes within the law to prevent these people from returning. And I just don’t think their heart has been in it.
“We know that Tony Burke was having secret meetings with the charity that was seeking to bring them home, there were officials in the room [and] he asked the officials to leave. There are incriminating notes of that meeting … where he’s alleged to have said things like, ‘We could find another way to achieve our objectives [and] we’re thankful for you keeping this out of the media.’”
