Labor Blocks Coalitions Proposed Bill to Criminalise Repatriation Assistance

Minister Tony Burke said the bill was a clumsy attempt by the Coalition that would do nothing to stop people it did not want from returning to Australia.Australian families affiliated with ISIS walk along a path before departure inside the Roj camp in al Malikiyah, Syria, on Feb. 15, 2026. Amjad Kurdo/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images3/3/2026|Updated: 3/3/2026The Albanese government has blocked a Coalition bid to introduce a new law aimed at criminalising assistance for individuals returning to Australia from declared terrorist hotspots.Opposition Leader Angus Taylor moved to suspend standing orders on March 3 to bring forward a private member’s bill titled “Keep Australians Safe.”