One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has devised a new plan to ban Islamic State-linked fighters and terrorist sympathisers, strengthening bail laws for terror offences and introducing tougher passport-blocking powers, in a counter-terror bill the populist politician says will be High Court-proof.
In what she will frame as the most detailed piece of One Nation policy since the party’s ascendancy after the Bondi attack, Senator Hanson has drafted a 22-page Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill ahead of parliament returning on August 11.
The Australian can reveal Senator Hanson sent the bill and a 17-page explanatory memorandum to crossbenchers on Wednesday, alongside a note lamenting at the time that Angus Taylor had not responded to the letter she sent him last Thursday.
The Opposition Leader ultimately did respond to Senator Hanson late on Wednesday, thanking her for backing his anti-terror push and encouraging her to bring forward her proposals for “parliament’s consideration”.
The Coalition is also working on strengthening its own counter-terror proposal – first released in June – in time for parliament’s return, raising the possibility of competing anti-ISIS fighter bills from the two main conservative parties.
The Hanson counter-terror bill would: create a foreign terrorist fighter exclusion order; stop the automatic issue of return permits while the court considers a case; make it harder for people to get bail for terrorism offences; allow the blocking of passports for anyone on an exclusion order and; make it a crime to organise or facilitate an unauthorised return.
The Australian understands that due to ongoing issues with support from the parliamentary tabling office, One Nation sought high-level legal advice externally on the bill, including from prominent constitutional lawyers.
One Nation’s legislation was prepared in response to public concerns about the return of ISIS brides and revelations Perth-born pediatrician and Islamic State fighter Tareq “Dr Jihad” Kamleh, who was believed dead, had survived the fall of the terror group and was currently in an Iraqi prison cell.
The return of the ISIS brides followed Australia’s worst ever terrorism attack at Bondi Beach on December 14, allegedly conducted by father-and-son Islamic extremists and resulting in the deaths of 15 innocent Jewish-Australians and bystanders.
In her letter to crossbenchers, Senator Hanson said: “I recently wrote to the Leader of the Opposition, offering to work together to strengthen the opposition’s bill … we have not yet received a formal reply”.
Senator Hanson said the opposition’s bill was a step in the right direction but didn’t go far enough and would not “prevent ISIS-linked individuals from entering Australia”.
“That leaves the central problem unresolved,” Senator Hanson wrote. “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.”
The legislation would allow the home affairs minister to apply to the Federal Court to prevent a person from returning where the court found that “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’s obligation to issue or consider a return permit would “be suspended while the application is prepared and determined”.
The minister could also “refuse, cancel or suspend a passport where a person is subject to an exclusion order or has been charged with or convicted of a terrorism offence”.
On strengthening bail laws for terrorism offences, “community safety and national security would be the paramount considerations”.“Childcare, family circumstances, accommodation or electronic monitoring would not, by themselves, amount to exceptional circumstances justifying bail,” it says
A person who arranges the entry of a terrorist fighter without commonwealth authority could face up to 10 years in prison.
Senator Hanson told crossbenchers that the bill preserved “judicial oversight” and enabled the home affairs minister and the court to “act on advice from Australia’s national security agencies”.
“An exclusion order could remain in force for up to two years,” she wrote. “Any further order would require a fresh application, updated national security advice and findings based on the risk at that time. One Nation’s position is absolute. People who choose to serve a listed terrorist organisation like ISIS over Australia, and who remain an unacceptable risk to the Australian community, should not be allowed to return. Not with a permit. Not under surveillance. Not at all.
“Australians should not be forced to bear an unacceptable terrorism risk because parliament and the home affairs minister failed to act. We want to work constructively with the crossbench. We welcome any comments or proposed amendments that would strengthen the bill or improve its operation.”
Senator Hanson, who asked crossbenchers to provide feedback by August 5 and offered briefings for MPs, is seeking support to “introduce, debate and pass the bill during the coming parliamentary sitting period, including any procedural steps needed to bring it before the Senate”.
The One Nation leader said she was pushing the legislation in response to “the Home Affairs Minister (Tony Burke) saying existing law may require him to permit their return (ISIS fighters)”.
“That is not good enough,” she said. “If the law prevents a minister from protecting Australians, parliament must change the law.”
One Nation’s explanatory memorandum, obtained by The Australian, says the bill seeks to strengthen “Australia’s ability to prevent the return to Australia of persons who have served with, participated in the activities of, or materially supported listed terrorist organisations overseas, and to protect the Australian community”.
The bill would amend four acts including the Counter-Terrorism (Temporary Exclusion Orders) Act, section 15AA of the Crimes Act, the Australian Passports Act, and insert a new section 119.3A into the Criminal Code. The bill extends relevant sunset dates and contains application provisions.
The Criminal Code change creates an offence of organising or facilitating the entry into Australia of certain persons who have engaged in terrorism-related conduct, “unless the entry is organised or facilitated by or on behalf of a commonwealth authority or with the prior written permission” of the foreign affairs minister or home affairs minister.
The explanatory memorandum says the bill won’t have a significant impact on commonwealth expenditure or revenue: “Any costs associated with the administration or enforcement of the amendments, including the conduct of proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia, are expected to be met from within the existing resources of relevant agencies.”
In her July 23 letter to Mr Taylor, Senator Hanson said “the first duty of the Australian government is to protect Australians … this Labor government is failing that duty”.
“Here is my offer,” she wrote. “One Nation will vote with the Coalition, in both chambers, for legislation that strengthens Australia’s counter-terrorism laws to the fullest extent permitted by the Constitution, including the laws governing temporary exclusion, terrorism offences, bail, citizenship consequences, passport issuance powers and post-release supervision.
“We will support every lawful measure necessary to protect Australians from those who voluntarily joined terrorist organisations overseas. The Coalition wrote the current laws and knows exactly where they now need strengthening.
“Let’s work together to draft these bills. We will back them. I do not care whose name is on the paper. I care that it passes before the gates of that Baghdad prison open. You and your colleagues spend their days attacking One Nation. I am setting that aside, because the safety of Australians matters more.”
In an interview with The Australian last month, Mr Taylor said he had reached out to Senator Hanson and “offered to meet and work with her on axing Labor’s toxic taxes”.
“I’m very much trying to work with her and anyone else who wants to work with us on this,” Mr Taylor said in June. “I’ve reached out, we haven’t heard. Absolutely open door, any time. And not just her. Others as well in the parliament.”
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