Terror threat higher in eastern states as Bishop cancels 50 passports

Australia's home-grown terror threat is strongest in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says.

She has cancelled about 50 passports on national security grounds, including three in the past week.

"The number of foreign fighters and the number of passports I have cancelled have focused on NSW, then Victoria, then Queensland," Ms Bishop told reporters in Melbourne on Monday.

"So other states are not facing the same immediate risks."

Ms Bishop spoke to the Victorian cabinet on the terror threat level following the fatal shooting of known terror suspect Numan Haider after he stabbed two police officers last Tuesday, a week after the 18-year-old's passport was cancelled.

Ms Bishop said there was strong co-operation between state and federal governments about the terror threat level.

"This is the most significant domestic security threat that Australia has faced in some time and all governments are taking it seriously," she said.

Ms Bishop said there had not been a drop off in the number of passports she had needed to cancel, with security agencies advising her of potential threats.

"If they have evidence that reaches the appropriate thresholds, that someone presents as a potential national security risk either by leaving the country or coming back to the country, then I'll act."