Australia to not rule out increasing military presence in Iraq: defence minister

Australia is yet to rule out expanding its current military role in the Middle East, the nation's defence minister said on Thursday, as coalition forces continue to recapture areas previously held by Islamic State (IS).

Following an announcement earlier this week that Australia would be sending an additional 15 personnel to Iraq to train local police officers, Defence Minister Marise Payne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) there could be scope for further involvement.

She said any additional role would not likely be combat-related, rather, there would be an increased capacity for Australian forces to help the local communities rebuild through construction, training of police or in other fields.

"I think the opportunity for us to indicate an enhancement of our activities in the building partner capacity role on several levels, particularly in relation to training law enforcement, but also a greater flexibility in where we are able to do that, particularly in Iraq," Payne told the ABC on Thursday.

"Now the whole process which we're going through at the moment which has seen some quite significant gains made militarily, we need to be sure that we are sustaining those sites, those communities as the military process moves on."

Payne said Australia's involvement in training Iraqi police officers was crucial to stabilization in the region.

"Law enforcement is going to be key to (sustaining those sites). If we can make a contribution in the training of that, I think that's a very important aspect of Australia's work," she said.

"As we see greater focus on new locations for military activity, we need to make sure that stability of communities, lawful communities are what is left behind." Endit