Four women and their children linked to the IS group arrived at Sydney Airport on 27 May 2026, following a separate flight that brought two women and their children into Melbourne the same day. The group that landed in Sydney was taken out through a back entrance, avoiding the waiting media.
No arrests have been made in the latest cohort, but the return is already testing how Australian authorities handle people linked to the militant group who come back from Syria. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said anyone who has broken the law will face consequences, and stressed that the government provided no assistance to the travellers.
The latest arrivals come weeks after another group of four women returned from Syria. In that earlier case, three women were later arrested and charged by the Australian Federal Police. That record will hang over the newest return, even as the government says it has not helped arrange it.
The scene at Sydney Airport also showed how sensitive the issue remains. The travellers were kept away from the cameras and led out of a back entrance, a move that underlined the security and political concerns surrounding their return. Albanese said the law would take its course wherever breaches were found, while authorities have given no public sign that any action has been taken against this latest group.
What happens next is likely to turn on whether investigators see grounds for charges, as they did with three women from the earlier return. For now, the government has made clear it did not assist the travellers, and the arrivals at Sydney Airport have reopened a case that is far from closed.
