Penny Wong has denied the government is "repatriating" ISIS brides, as senators suggested the "worst of the worst" could return to Australia under their own steam.

The Foreign Affairs Minister copped a grilling from Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash on Friday at a Senate Estimates hearing into the Department of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee.

Senator Cash claimed the Home Affairs department must have had consular interactions with the ISIS brides and children to secure their citizenship proofs and passport documents before their veiled return.

Senator Wong told the hearing she would not have been the first minister to be briefed on their return and suggested she may have first heard about the case in the media, while officially taking questions on notice.

The hea

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