Save the Children welcomes the news that a group of innocent Australian children, along with their mothers, will today return home after spending seven years trapped in desert camps in northeastern Syria.
The child rights organisation said these children will need access to wraparound health and psychosocial support to help them recover from trauma and rebuild their lives. They should be given the space and privacy they need to heal and reintegrate successfully.
“These innocent children have endured years in dangerous and unstable conditions, and we have held serious concerns for their safety and wellbeing,” Save the Children Australia CEO Mat Tinkler said.
“The political debate surrounding their future in Australia has been deeply disappointing. As Australian citizens, it was always a matter of ‘when’ these women and children came home, not ‘if’.
“While much attention has focused on the circumstances of the mothers, two thirds of the returning group are children. Australia must prioritise their safety, wellbeing and right to live in this country as Australian citizens.
“The return of these Australians from northeastern Syria marks the end of a prolonged ordeal for the children and a long campaign for their return. Their childhood has been badly interrupted, and they deserve to be given the space they need to safely reintegrate into the community and rebuild their lives in Australia.
“If any of the women have been exposed to radicalisation, or if there is any evidence that crimes may have been committed, Australia’s judicial and national security system is best placed to assess and manage any risks.”
The Morrison Government repatriated a group of eight children in 2019 before the Albanese Government repatriated 13 children and their four mothers in October 2022. Despite repeated calls for the Australian Government to manage the repatriation of the remaining Australians, the government has refused to act since then, leaving families stranded amid heightened regional tensions in the Middle East.
Last month, a group of nine children and their four mothers returned to Australia with the support of their families. In 2025, two Australian mothers and their four children reportedly made their own way back home.
It has been reported that one Australian woman and her child remain in Syria. We call for their safe passage home to bring this tumultuous chapter to a close for all parties.
“The only real prospect of justice is here in Australia, where the courts, police and prosecutors are fully equipped to investigate and prosecute alleged offences,” Mr Tinkler said.
Save the Children did not play a role in returning this group or any other Australians from northeastern Syria, but has long supported the families in their advocacy efforts.
In 2023, Save the Children Australia acted as a litigation guardian in a case brought before the Federal Court seeking to compel the Australian Government to repatriate the entire group. While the legal action was ultimately unsuccessful, the court noted that it would be a relatively straightforward exercise for the government to repatriate the Australian children and their mothers – if it had the political will to do so.
Save the Children has been working in Syria since 2012, reaching over five million people, including more than three million children across the country with emergency and life-saving interventions including child protection services, education, food security and livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene as well as health and nutrition.
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT: media.team@savethechildren.org.au