An airliner reportedly carrying three Australian women and eight children landed in Melbourne, while a separate plane carrying a woman and her son arrived in Sydney soon after.

The Australian government announced on Wednesday that the 13 — who have spent years in a Syrian desert camp — planned to return to Australia.

Police said the women face potential criminal charges relating to their alleged time in the Islamic State group's so-called caliphate that spanned Syria and Iraq.

Both Qatar Airways flights took off minutes apart from Doha, bound for Australia's two largest cities. QR904, which landed in Melbourne first, was followed by QR908 in Sydney.