People arriving in Australia from high-risk countries will have to submit their fingerprints and other biometric data under a proposed $70 million anti-terrorism scheme outlined in a Government white paper.

The Federal Government will today release the anti-terrorism white paper that was originally promised at the end of last year.

The paper will declare terrorism a permanent feature of Australia's security environment and say the main threat is from a global jihadist movement, including Al Qaeda.

It will note an increase in the threat from people born or raised in Australia who have become influenced by violent jihadist messages.

The Government will announce nearly $70 million to introduce biometric checks on visa applicants from around 10 countries.

It has not yet said which nations will be chosen, but is targeting those with a higher national security risk.

Applicants from those nations will have to submit their fingerprints and photos to be cross-checked against databases of known criminals and terrorists.

Speaking on AM today, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith would not confirm whether Indonesia would be one of the countries on the list.

"We're not proposing to identify the countries concerned until we actually engage in the roll-out, for all of the obvious reasons," he said.

"We'll be in consultation with the countries concerned. Whether that's done at ministerial level or official level time will tell."

Mr Smith says the white paper shows that the threat from Al Qaeda is evolving, and Australia must also be aware of threats from "homegrown" terrorists.

"We have to be very careful to watch that in Australia," he said. "The techniques of the terrorists are also evolving."