Australians repatriated from Syria have all been deemed to be a low security risk to the community despite concerns about their resettling in Western Sydney.
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Security agency ASIO lowered the nation's terrorism threat level from probable to possible on Monday, taking into account the four women and 13 children brought home from a Syrian refugee camp.
The group has been the subject of controversy in Western Sydney with locals criticising the government for failing to consult with them over possible security risks.
ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said all repatriated Australians had been deemed to be a low risk to the community and their return was considered in the decision to lower the national terrorism threat.
"For some it may require my organisation to keep an eye on them, but that's okay because I'll back my organisation any day," he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had "complete confidence" in the security agencies.
"I won't second guess them," he said.
ASIO has conducted further security assessments on Australians still located in the Syrian refugee camp.
No decision has been made about further repatriations.
The opposition says the repatriation has brought an undue risk to the community with fears of radicalisation.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the planned repatriation was weighed against the risks of leaving them in the camp, with the government powerless to ban citizens from entering Australia if they managed to return in the future.
"Then we lose the ability to control the return," she said.
"If we don't do anything about this now, then the children ... are growing up in an environment that is unsafe, where they're subject to violent, radical ideology every day that tells them to hate their own country."
The government is still committed to bringing in laws to strip dual citizens of their Australian citizen if they join a terrorist organisation, but it will wait for two High Court cases to wrap up before drafting legislation.
Ms O'Neil said she wanted to be certain any laws could withstand a High Court challenge after previous legislation from the coalition government had been ruled unconstitutional.
"We need to wait till the High Court has given us a better indication of what the constitutional limits are, and then we will legislate again for that," she said.
Australian Associated Press
