The federal opposition plans to introduce legislation when parliament sits in March that would punish anyone who helps the so-called "ISIS brides" travel to Australia with up to 10 years jail.
Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler, who has advocated for the Australian partners and children of Islamic State fighters, said while the proposal lacked detail, it was a slippery slope.
"I think it's pretty reckless, to be honest," he told ABC TV on Monday.
"It feels like a thought bubble to me and it's potentially setting a very dangerous precedent where advocacy and humanitarian assistance from organisations like Save the Children ... is suddenly called into question."
Mr Tinkler said he did not know whether his organisation would be caught up in the coalition's policy and has offered to brief the party on Save the Children's work in Syria.
A group of 34 Australian women and children has been trying to return home from a Syrian refugee camp.
They travelled to the Middle East with men who wanted to fight for Islamic State before the terror organisation was defeated in 2019.
The group has been issued with Australian passports but were unable to travel to the Syrian capital Damascus for a flight home.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he would make it illegal to assist in the repatriation of people who had travelled to declared terrorist hotspots or committed a terrorist offence.
"We need to shut the door to people who are going to bring hate and violence to our shores from another part of the world," he told reporters on Monday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the proposal should be ignored.
"They don't have serious plans," he told reporters earlier on Monday.
"If they did, they wouldn't have allowed more than 40 people to come, including fighters, on their watch when they were in government."
That claim was disputed by former prime minister Scott Morrison, who told News Corp Australia that only orphaned minors were allowed back under his government.
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