Pauline Hanson spearheads new bill that would stop citizens with links to ISIS from returning to Australia

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 15:53, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 15:57, 29 July 2026 One Nation will push a new bill in parliament aimed at preventing any Australians with links to terror organisations from re-entering the country. Party leader Pauline Hanson has dubbed the 22-page Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill her party's most detailed policy since the terror attack at Bondi Beach on December 14, 2025. The bill and a 17-page explanation was sent to crossbenchers by Hanson on Wednesday, The Australian reported. Hanson said her bill is in response to 'the Home Affairs Minister (Tony Burke) saying existing law may require him to permit' the return of ISIS fighters, including one who was previously believed dead. 'That is not good enough. If the law prevents a minister from protecting Australians, parliament must change the law,' she said. Hanson also sent the bill to Opposition Leader Angus Taylor last Thursday but he hadn't responded by late Wednesday. The One Nation leader wants the bill to be presented to parliament at its next sitting, on August 11. Hanson's bill would create an exclusion order for foreign terror fighters, toughen bail for terror offences, stop the automatic issuing of return permits while Australian courts consider terror crimes, and criminalise aiding in an illegal return. Pauline Hanson (above) is pushing a new bill to toughen Australian borders against Australians who've joined foreign terror groups The bill would essentially make it 'court proof' to ban an Australian who participated in terror cells overseas from returning to Australia. Hanson acknowledged the Opposition was working on its own bill but claimed it didn't 'prevent ISIS-linked individuals from entering Australia'. 'That leaves the central problem unresolved,' she wrote in her letter to crossbenchers.  'A bill that cannot prevent foreign terrorist fighters from returning does not adequately protect Australians.  'We have therefore prepared the Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill 2026.' Under Hanson's bill, home affairs ministers could apply to the Federal Court to block a return if 'the person voluntarily served, participated in or materially supported a listed terrorist organisation, would pose an unacceptable risk to Australians, and could not be safely managed by a less restrictive measure'. The minister would not be required to consider a return permit while the Federal Court application is considered.  The bill would also not consider 'childcare, family circumstances, accommodation or electronic monitoring' efficient reason for accepting bail. Hanson's bill aims to make it court-proof to block the return of Australians linked to foreign terror groups (pictured is Kawsar Ahmad, covered by a grey jacket, leaving Melbourne Magistrates Court. She returned to Australia in early May after being linked to ISIS fighters) A proposed change to the Criminal Code, under the bill, would see anyone convicted of helping an illegal return face up to 10 years behind bars. 'Australians should not be forced to bear an unacceptable terrorism risk because parliament and the home affairs minister failed to act,' Hanson wrote. 'We want to work constructively with the crossbench. We welcome any comments or proposed amendments that would strengthen the bill or improve its operation.'