Two senior federal ministers appear to be at odds over whether anti-terrorism laws should be toughened to stop Australian foreign fighters returning home.
Intelligence experts warn more than 100 Australians fighting for Islamic State could lawfully return home, it was reported on Friday.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says the prime minister has discussed with him reviewing laws which strip the Australian citizenship from dual-citizens found to have been involved in terrorism.
But cabinet colleague Christopher Pyne earlier dismissed as a "sensational beat-up" reports of serious loopholes in the laws.
"The laws that the journalist are talking about, of course, were never designed to keep all foreign fighters out of Australia," Mr Pyne told the Nine Network.
"They were designed to take away the citizenship of dual citizens."
The government would never render anyone stateless, Mr Pyne said.
Mr Dutton told reporters there was a case where "an Australian, through his actions, has given up his Australian citizenship", but the minister declined to go into further detail.
"If there are ways in which the law can be improved, then we will be open to that," he said.
"The prime minister and I have already had conversations about ways in which we can improve our suite of measures in relation to dealing with this."
Mr Dutton told 2GB radio there was argument for "some strengthening" of the law.
Attending the Avalon air show in Victoria, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government was "very alert" to the return of foreign fighters.
"We have that issue of foreign fighters very well in hand .. we update and review our laws all the time," he said.
" (But) our goal as far as those who serve with Daesh in the Middle East is to kill them."
Defence force personnel now had the legal ability to do so "whether (the terrorists) have a gun in their hand, bomb in their hand or whether they are plotting or raising money".
In 2015, leaks exposed the cabinet as being deeply divided over the citizenship laws, with some ministers arguing for Australian-born terrorism suspects without any other citizenship to lose their status.
Labor leader Bill Shorten told reporters in Canberra the opposition would work with the government if there were any concrete proposals.
"But I'm a bit surprised - I saw the senior minister Pyne out there saying this wasn't a big issue, now minister Dutton has rushed out and said it is an issue," he said.
"I would like the government to get their lines straight on it ... the real problem is the government should be fighting terrorism and not fighting each other."
