The government has stripped the Australian citizenship from five people because of their involvement with the so-called Islamic State.

"The determination of the Government is to try and keep Australia as safe as possible and we do that by keeping these people far from our shores so if we can deal with foreign fighters away from our shores we do that," said Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on the ABC's AM show.

He didn't reveal the names of the five.  They are three men and two women, aged in their 20s and 30s, and were dual-citizens who traveled overseas to fight for the extremist cause.  They may still have some family in Australia who are now the subjects of investigation. 

"If people are coming back here armed with all that knowledge it does provide a significant security risk to Australian citizens so we are very keen to neutralise that wherever we can," Dutton said.  "Australia is a safer place for not having them return."

Prior to this, the only person previously stripped of Australian citizenship under the 2015 anti-terror laws is Khaled Sharrouf.  He gained international notoriety for posing his seven-year old son with a severed head in photos used for IS propaganda.  He was twice reported killed in combat, in 2015 and 2017.