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May 2026

ISIS Brides return to Australia

On 6 May 2026 Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that 13 members of the Australian cohort in Syria, four women and nine children, had made plans to travel to Australia. They arrived in Sydney and Melbourne on 7 May. The NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team arrested a 32-year-old woman at Sydney Airport and charged her with entering or remaining in a declared area and being a member of a terrorist organisation (AFP). She was refused bail (ABC), and the ABC named her as Janai Safar. The Victoria JCTT charged two women, aged 53 and 31, with crimes against humanity (enslavement) and slavery offences. The AFP alleges one "was complicit in the purchase of a female slave for US$10,000, and knowingly kept the woman in the home". A fourth woman was not arrested (ABC).

On 26 May 2026 two flights brought a further 19 women and children to Melbourne and Sydney. Burke's statement listed "seven women and 12 children" as planning to travel, while the ABC reported that six women arrived. No one was arrested, but the AFP said investigations were continuing (ABC). Confirming their return, Burke said the government "has not and will not provide any assistance to this group" (BBC). The BBC reported they were understood to be the last Australians in al-Roj camp. One woman subject to a temporary exclusion order remained in Syria with her child.

On 28 May 2026 the Victoria JCTT charged a woman, 34, who had returned from Lebanon in September 2025, with terrorism offences. According to the AFP release, Deputy Commissioner Hilda Sirec "said the JCTTs had charged four women in the past three weeks for alleged crimes against humanity and terrorism-related offences". AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said planning for the returns began in 2015 under what became Operation Kurrajong.

Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir defended the women's return, telling Daily Mail Australia (8 May 2026): "I am no defender of these individuals. I am no defender of ISIS. If they are guilty of breaking Australian law, charge them." He added: "I don't care what the government does or doesn't do, I care even less what the Opposition thinks."

More sources:

Source: Australian Federal Police – "Two women charged by Victoria JCTT for alleged crimes against humanity" (joint AFP/Victoria Police/ASIO release, 8 May 2026)
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