‘ISIS brides’ returning from Syria could cost Australian taxpayers millions in surveillance and rehab

Australian taxpayers could be forced to foot a multi-million dollar bill to monitor and rehabilitate returning ‘ISIS brides’ and their children, as a fierce political clash erupts over the government’s decision to bring the group home from Syrian refugee camps.

Three Australian women who arrived in Sydney and Melbourne on Thursday night are expected to face slavery, terror, and crimes against humanity charges after years spent in camps linked to the Islamic State group.

But beyond the criminal allegations, questions are rapidly growing over the long-term cost of surveillance, de-radicalisation programs and welfare support, with experts warning the price tag could stretch into the millions.

Speaking on Sunrise on Friday morning, Health Minister Mark Butler was forced to defend the government’s handling of the repatriation, insisting Australia’s security agencies had been preparing for the possibility “for more than a decade”.

“Our security agencies won’t outline all of those plans. They never do,” Mr Butler said.

“But people should feel very confident that under both governments, the former government and under ours, our security agencies have been preparing for this for more than a decade.”

Pressed repeatedly on the cost to taxpayers after former NSW Police superintendent Rob Quinton estimated surveillance could cost up to $2 million per person each year, Mr Butler refused to put a figure on the operation.

“I can’t tell you the exact cost,” he said.

“All I can say is significant taxpayer resources through policing agencies at a state and federal level, through intelligence agencies, of course, are deployed to keep our communities safe.”

Opposition Deputy Leader of the Opposition Jane Hume accused the Albanese government of making it too easy for the women to return, claiming temporary exclusion powers could have been used to delay or prevent their arrival.

“We’re astounded that these people have been allowed to come back onto our shores so easily,” Senator Hume said.

The Coalition senator also raised concerns about rehabilitation efforts for children who spent formative years inside extremist-controlled camps, while pointing to the trauma suffered by victims of ISIS violence.

“The trauma that this woman has gone through is unimaginable,” she said while describing a Yazidi woman she recently met who had been enslaved by ISIS as a child.

Federal police investigations into the returning women are ongoing, while authorities prepare for long-term surveillance, court proceedings and rehabilitation support for both the women and children.