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May 29, 2026
The Coalition has warned there will be a “very significant burden on the taxpayer” after a fourth returned ISIS bride was charged with terror offences.
A 34-year-old Broadmeadows woman faced court on Thursday after being charged with entering a declared area in Syria and allegedly being a member of Islamic State.
Police allege she travelled to Syria between 2013 and 2014 to join ISIS before later returning to Australia from Lebanon in September 2025.
The question over economic impacts comes as the NSW government seeks financial assistance from Canberra to help cover the cost of managing the returned women and children.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the costs involved counter-terrorism investigations and helping children settle back into schools.
However, speaking to Sky News host Peta Credlin on Thursday night, shadow defence minister James Paterson said the true cost to taxpayers stretched far beyond welfare support.
“The answer to your question is all of the above they would be eligible for,” he said when asked whether housing, legal aid, and other support services were being provided.
“In addition to that, they're also eligible for unemployment benefits if they're unable to work.
“But probably the biggest cost that's imposed on the taxpayer and on the government is if they are a person of concern that requires monitoring by ASIO or the federal police.
“It is not a cheap thing to monitor someone in the community.”
He warned security agencies could be forced to divert resources away from other threats.
“These are resources that are taken away from ASIO or the AFP that could be allocated to other tasks,” he said.
“So, it's a very significant burden on the taxpayer.”
The arrest on Thursday has reignited scrutiny over the government’s handling of ISIS-linked returnees, particularly after six women arrived back in Australia this week without being charged upon landing.
Mr Paterson said the latest charges showed the cohort represented an ongoing national security concern.
“It's certainly welcome that this person has now been charged with these very serious crimes and it will be up to a court to decide their guilt or innocence,” he said.
“But the very fact that this has been charged with a declared area offence… and also has been charged with being a member of a listed terrorist organisation shows that this cohort of people do pose a potential security risk to Australia.”
The Liberal Senator argued the government had options available to stop the women returning while investigations continued.
“They could have cancelled or refused their passports under the Passport Act given that they potentially represented a threat to Australia,” he said.
“They could have applied for temporary exclusion orders to keep them offshore while these investigations took place so that if they did return, they could have been charged immediately upon their return.”
The Albanese government has repeatedly denied actively assisting the return of ISIS-linked women from Syria.
Mr Paterson disputed those claims, pointing to the heavy police and government presence surrounding the women when they landed in Australia this week.
“One of the family members of one of these ISIS-linked women publicly thanked the Australian government for their assistance in bringing them home,” he said.
“So, I think when even supporters of these women acknowledge that the Australian government has assisted them to bring home, ordinary Australians can say that's exactly what this government has done.”
The debate has also reignited questions around taxpayer-funded deradicalisation programs.
Mr Paterson said millions of dollars had already been spent over several years, including funding provided to charities, non-government organisations and private contractors.
“But I think the key thing is there's a really big debate about whether or not those programs ever work,” he said.
“There are experts in the field who say it is simply not possible to deradicalise someone with a deradicalisation program if they are genuinely and sincerely committed to their ideology.
“How many millions of dollars have we spent over the last few decades and how many people have actually been successfully rehabilitated and cured of that evil ideology?”
The four women who arrived back in Australia on May 7 have since been charged with terror-related offences and crimes against humanity.
None of the six women who returned this week were charged upon arrival, although AFP Deputy Commissioner Hilda Sirec has confirmed investigations remain ongoing.