ISIS Woman Returns
Australia Approves ISIS-Linked Woman's Return Under Most Invasive Surveillance, Ending Exclusion
Key Points
Abby’s nine-year-old daughter, who is disabled, remains with her in Syria and has ongoing speech and movement impairments resulting from shrapnel wounds to her head, hip and back.
Abby previously attempted to board a Damascus-to-Sydney flight with other ISIS brides last month but was turned away at check-in, after being subject to a government temporary exclusion order (TEO) that barred entry for two years.
She was the only person from the cohort of Australian women linked to IS in Syria to be issued a government-issued temporary exclusion order (TEO).
Two ISIS-linked Australian brides have already returned to Australia in May, with some facing crimes-against-humanity charges, illustrating contrasting outcomes within the same re-entry process.
The security framework around returned individuals is being recalibrated in light of a high-profile speech by ASIO’s Mike Burgess, with the terror alert warning system under review to address evolving national security risks.
Australia has cleared the way for Hodan Abby, 29, its last ISIS-linked woman still held in Syria's al-Roj camp, to return home under what officials are calling the most invasive surveillance package ever applied to a returning citizen. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed on June 25 that a return permit had been issued after all legal avenues to keep her out were exhausted, effectively ending the government's two-year effort to block her entry. 7News reported the decision lifts a Temporary Exclusion Order Burke had personally signed just four months ago.
Abby's nine-year-old daughter, who suffers permanent speech and movement impairments from shrapnel wounds to her head, hip, and back, will travel with her. Burke stated bluntly: "We have gone absolutely to the legal limit that we're able to." The decision arrives just six months after a December 2025 ISIS-inspired attack at Bondi Beach killed 15 people — the deadliest terror attack on Australian soil in decades.
How a Sydney Teen Ended Up Syria's Last Australian Detainee
Abby was 18 when she left Western Sydney in 2015, telling family she was going on holiday. She instead traveled to Syria and joined Islamic State. By 2019, following ISIS's military collapse at Baghouz, she was detained and placed in al-Roj internment camp in northeastern Syria, where she has remained for seven years. Her daughter was born in Syria and was badly wounded as an infant during the conflict.
Abby was the only person in the entire cohort of Australian women linked to ISIS to receive a government-issued Temporary Exclusion Order (TEO) — a legal tool that can bar a citizen's re-entry for up to two years but cannot permanently revoke citizenship. On May 26, she tried to board a Damascus-to-Sydney flight with seven other women and 12 children. Airport staff turned her away at check-in because the TEO was still active, according to Head Topics.
Surveillance Conditions Are Deliberately Extreme and Immediate
Under the return permit, Abby must report her home address, workplace, and any study location to authorities. She must give 24 hours' notice before using any telecommunications device — including payphones — or any social media platform. Head Topics described the package as the "highest level" of monitoring Australia's security agencies can legally impose.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said his agency is ready to deploy its "full capability and powers" the moment Abby lands. Two earlier cohorts of ISIS-linked Australian women already returned — seven women and 12 children arrived on May 26, and three women were charged immediately with crimes against humanity upon landing in May. Those charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Opposition Anger and Humanitarian Pressure Pull in Opposite Directions
The Coalition has been sharply critical. Opposition MP Andrew Hastie argued in Parliament that the government is enabling "self-managed returns to Australia for cohorts of ISIS sympathisers," calling it a threat to community safety. Senator Matt Canavan questioned why more TEOs were not used and why the returns were handled quietly after the Bondi tragedy.
Human rights groups have pushed back just as hard. Amnesty International Australia's Zaki Haidari urged political parties to "refrain from politicising these individuals' fundamental right to return home." Human Rights Watch has called on Australia to ensure that any criminal proceedings against the mothers do not strip the children of their rights — particularly Abby's daughter, who needs ongoing medical care she cannot get in Syria.
Bondi Attack Shadows a National Security System Under Review
The political backdrop is unusually charged. On June 24 — one day before the Abby permit was announced — ASIO chief Mike Burgess delivered his Annual Threat Assessment, warning of a "degrading security environment" and calling for a full review of Australia's terror alert system. The current threat level sits at "Probable," the middle tier, but analysts at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute say the TEO framework was "never designed" for today's cross-ideological threat landscape.
Australia has foiled 31 major terrorism plots since 2014, according to ASIO. Burke said the security system is under active review to reflect evolving risks — a signal that Abby's return is likely to accelerate, not settle, the debate over how Australia handles citizens who traveled to join foreign terrorist groups and now want to come home.
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