Special border force team stops hundreds

A specialist and low-key border force team has stopped hundreds of terror suspects, crime figures and illegal immigrants from boarding planes to Australia.

The Airline Liaison Officers are stationed in key Asian and Middle East air hubs and transit points for direct flights to Australia and work closely with local authorities.

"They try and identify the threats, particularly given we have got foreign fighters coming back through southeast Asia and all over - the idea is to stop them getting on planes

"We keep Australians safer if we do that."

He said many countries allowed people to assess the threat when they arrived, but he said the Australian model "serves us very well".

He said they worked with authorities in ports such as Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Seoul which are major hubs for people travelling to Australia.