Australian woman with IS links cleared to return home after ban lifted

Burke explained that the permit to travel was the final step in the temporary exclusion order process, which was created in 2019 to prevent defeated IS fighters from returning from the Middle East for up to two years. The woman is the only known target of such an order. He added that extensive efforts were made with his department, agencies, the Australian Federal Police, and ASIO, along with legal counsel, to impose every possible condition on the permit, including requiring her to provide 24 hours' notice before using any communication device.

Opposition lawmakers have criticized the government for not amending the law to prevent the woman's return. The government said she was issued with the exclusion order on national security grounds, but did not detail those grounds. The woman was 18 years old when she left Sydney for Syria in 2015. It is not clear whether she could be arrested on arrival, as three of four women who arrived in Australia with nine children on May 7 were arrested and charged with terrorism and slavery offenses.