Middle East not 'boy's own adventure'

Australians tempted to venture to the Middle East to join Islamic State are realising this isn't the boy's own adventure it was first made out to be, the head of the Australian Federal Police says.

Commissioner Andrew Colvin said the number of Australians fighting with IS had levelled out around 120 but was not decreasing.

Mr Colvin said the AFP and other agencies had done a good job in identifying and stopping people travelling to the conflict zones and the message was starting to get through.

"People are seeing the events in the Middle East and the conflict is not the boy's own adventure perhaps it was first made out to be. I mean, this is a war and people are dying," he told ABC Television.

Mr Colvin said IS was under increasing pressure and was reaching out.

That placed greater pressure on the AFP and others to make sure they didn't see Australia as a place they could carry out attacks, he said