The mother of a Sydney woman who is trying to return home after two years attached to ISIL forces says she and her five children have been put "at great risk" now their travel plans have been exposed.

Karen Nettleton said she would not reveal how far her daughter and her five grandchildren had progressed with their efforts to return to Australia

Earlier today, her father said while he hasn’t heard from her in almost a decade, he hopes she returns safely.

Peter Nettleton’s comments about his daughter, Tara, come as Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned any foreign fighter returning would be treated as a criminal.

Tara Nettleton – who has spent two years with her ISIL fighter husband and their five children in Syria – is reportedly in a bid to return to Australia.

Australian intelligence agencies have recently traced Ms Nettleton’s mother, Karen, on a trip to Malaysia in what could be part of an effort to repatriate the family, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Ms Nettleton and her children left Australia just two months after her husband Khaled Sharrouf fled to Syria to take up arms with ISIL in late 2013.

Sydney jihadi Khaled Sharrouf is wanted by the AFP. (AAP)

Ms Nettleton’s mother is suspected of helping her and the children reach the Middle East in December 2013 and also helped take care of the children after Sharrouf fled.

But today her father, Peter, denied having any contact with his daughter.

“I haven’t seen my daughter in over 10 years, I’ve only seen two of the grandkids – I do not know their whereabouts, or what they’re doing,” he told reporters.

“I only know through the newspapers and television where they are.”

Mr Nettleton, who has previously publicly pleaded for his grandchildren to be returned to Australia said he still loved his daughter.

“I still love my daughter and I hope she comes home safe,” he said.

Ms Nettleton converted to Islam and had the first of her five children with Sharrouf when she was 17.

It is understood she may have decided to leave Syria due to poor living conditions.

Sharrouf, who last year posted a photo on the internet of his seven-year-old son holding up a severed head, is apparently still content fighting in Syria.

Earlier this year, his 14-year-old daughter reportedly married fellow Australian Jihadi and close friend Mohamed Elomar – also known as Abu Hafs al Austali - who is aged 31.

Several of his children have appeared online in photos posing with automatic weapons or making pro-Jihad statements.

Sharrouf was convicted and jailed for terrorism offences in Australia, before being released and eventually fleeing the country to join ISIL by using his brother’s passport.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has taken a hard-line stance on the issue, saying Ms Nettleton would face the full force of the law if she returned.

"That's what the Australian public expect. Crime will be punished," he told reporters in Canberra today.

"Crime is crime is crime, and criminals will face the full severity of Australian law, whether they're male or female.”

He dismissed suggestions the family's return could be used to discourage others taking up the IS cause.

"I'm afraid you don't get off scot-free just because you say I've seen the error of my ways," he said.

Mr Abbott has also dismissed concerns about the couple's children should their mother be jailed.

"There are criminals who go to jail all the time and they have children."