Overview
- A group of seven Australian women and 12 children arrived in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday after leaving the al‑Roj camp in north‑east Syria and flying via Damascus and Doha.
- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government did not assist the travel and warned anyone who committed crimes overseas would face prosecution.
- Police in Victoria and New South Wales searched belongings and downloaded devices on arrival and said no one in this cohort was charged at the airports while inquiries continue.
- One Australian woman was barred from returning under a temporary exclusion order issued in February and remained in Syria with her child after airline staff refused to board her.
- The returns renew tensions between security measures and child‑welfare obligations as agencies prepare criminal probes, court cases from an earlier May repatriation remain active, and advocates press for care for traumatised children.