Australia’s government has ruled out helping repatriate a group of 34 women and children stranded in a detention camp in northeast Syria, despite their reported Australian citizenship and alleged links to the Islamic State group.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the government’s position clear on Tuesday, saying Australia would provide “absolutely no support” and would not assist in bringing the families home. The group, made up of women and children from 11 families, had been expected to fly from Damascus back to Australia, but Syrian authorities halted the departure and returned them to Roj camp after what officials described as procedural issues.
Albanese refused to confirm whether the families hold Australian passports, but emphasized that the government has no intention of intervening. He argued that those who traveled overseas to support or participate in the Islamic State movement made a conscious decision to align themselves with an extremist cause. In blunt remarks, he said Australia has “no sympathy” for people who attempted to help establish a caliphate and framed the situation as the consequence of their own choices.
While acknowledging the difficult reality that children are caught up in the situation, Albanese maintained that Australia will not change course. He also warned that if any of the women or children manage to return to Australia independently, they could face criminal investigation and prosecution.
Under Australian law, traveling to the former Islamic State stronghold of al-Raqqa province without a legitimate reason was illegal between 2014 and 2017, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Albanese said anyone who re-enters the country could be subject to “the full force of the law” if authorities determine laws were broken.
The prime minister also pointed to a past legal challenge that failed to force government action. International charity Save the Children had attempted to argue in Australian courts that the government had a duty to repatriate citizens from Syrian detention camps. However, a federal court ruled in favor of the government in 2024. Following that decision, Save the Children’s leadership said Australia might not have a legal responsibility, but still carried a moral obligation to protect children living in harsh conditions.
Australia has conducted only limited government-assisted repatriations since Islamic State lost its territorial control in 2019. The most recent group returned in October 2022, when four mothers and 13 children were brought back to Sydney. At the time, officials said those individuals were judged to be the most vulnerable among roughly 60 Australian women and children being held at Roj camp. Another repatriation occurred in 2019, when eight children of two deceased Australian Islamic State fighters were returned under the previous conservative government.
The debate has gained renewed attention in Australia amid heightened concerns about extremist violence. The issue resurfaced after the killing of 15 people at a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach in December, with investigators reportedly believing the attackers were inspired by Islamic State ideology.
For Albanese, the policy remains firm: Australia will not assist suspected IS-linked families abroad, even as children remain trapped in camps far from home.
