Four women and nine children with ties to the Islamic State have returned to Australia from Syria, with three of the women arrested on arrival in Melbourne and Sydney and charged with terror-related and crimes-against-humanity offences. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed the group will be required to undergo community integration and countering violent extremism programs, though no single national framework exists — Victoria relies on an imam-led, ideologically focused model run through the Board of Imams, while New South Wales takes a social-services triage approach tailored to individual risk factors. Experts warn that building trust with participants is critical to any programme's success, and that the children — likely traumatised by years in Syrian refugee camps — must have their immediate welfare needs met before longer-term psychological and reintegration work can begin.