Abdul Nacer Benbrika is gearing up to be released from a Victorian prison.
The Algerian-born terrorist was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years behind bars in 2008 for his role in plotting against high-profile targets in Sydney and Melbourne.
But now that he's set for freedom, he won't be spending it in Australia.
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Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has confirmed that Benbrika, one of the country's most notorious terrorist individuals, has had his Australian passport cancelled.
He said: "This is a very serious conviction and the penalties highlight that. We believe it is appropriate in this circumstance to take the action that we have.
"If there is the ability to remove threats from Australia or to stop them coming back to Australia to commit a terrorist act here, then of course we would look at any of those options.
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"Generally speaking, people would serve out their sentence and then be deported, or be placed into immigration detention until they can be deported from Australia.
"The more we can stop these people from coming back to Australia, the quicker we can deport these people, the safer the Australian public remains."
Benbrika is the first person to have their citizenship cancelled while still being in the country under the government's terrorism-related provisions of the Australian Citizenship Act. There have been more than 20 dual-nationals stripped of their Aussie citizenship, however Benbrika is the first onshore national.
The terrorist was meant to be released this month however he has to wait for an interim detention to be completed.
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If the government had its way, he would be behind bars for another three years. Mr Dutton said he will be deported regardless of whether he's released or still has time to serve.
Dutton has rejected the notion that deporting him to another country could pose a greater threat because Australian authorities wouldn't be able to keep a close eye on him.
"It doesn't matter who it is, if it's a person that is posing significant a significant terrorist threat to our country, we will do whatever is possible within Australian law protect Australians. That remains our priority in relation to Benbrika," the Home Affairs Minister said.
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Benbrika was one of 17 men arrested in November 2005 and was charged with being a member of a terrorist organisation. He was alleged to be the spiritual leader of the group.
He became increasingly radical after the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and started teaching smaller groups after more formal organisations requested he tone down his preachings.
Despite being sentenced to more than a decade in jail, his teachings were still able to spread. While he was serving out his sentence, his jihadist ideology was able to influence some people to join Islamic State.
Featured Image Credit: ABC