The federal government is standing by its decision to strip Islamic State jihadist and recruiter Neil Prakash of his Australian citizenship despite speculation it has left him stateless.

Melbourne-born Prakash, who is in jail in Turkey facing terrorism charges, was notified at the weekend his citizenship had been annulled because of his connections to IS.

The government believes the 27-year-old is a dual national as his father was Fijian.

However, the head of Fiji’s Immigration Department said Prakash was not one of its citizens, the Fiji Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The government isn’t allowed to revoke an Australian’s citizenship if it will leave them stateless.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Immigration Minister David Coleman on Wednesday said a board of senior security and department officials had carefully considered whether Prakash was a foreign national before his citizenship was revoked, and stood by the decision.

Mr Dutton said the government has been in close contact with Fiji officials since Prakash was determined to have lost his citizenship.

“Australia will continue our close co-operation with Fiji on this issue,” he said in a statement.

Mr Coleman said the Citizenship Loss Board was responsible for determining that Prakash was older than 14, served a declared terrorist organisation, and a was citizen of another country as required by the law.

“That’s its job and the outcome is that an evil terrorist is no longer an Australian citizen,” he told reporters in Sydney.

When asked if the government could be forced to reinstate Prakash’s Australian citizenship in the future, Mr Coleman said: “That will not be the case”.

“The Citizenship (Loss) Board has reviewed that matter, has determined that this individual had dual citizenship, and has determined that this person was involved in terrorist activity,” he said.

Labor’s immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said Mr Dutton had questions to answer about the advice he received on the matter and what contact had been made with Fijian authorities.

“National security is too important an issue to be played with flippantly,” Mr Neumann told reporters in Brisbane.

Prakash has been in custody near the border with Syria since 2016 after he attempted to enter Turkey with false documents.

His Australian passport was cancelled in 2014 and he was added to a sanctions list in 2015.

The federal government sought to have him extradited from Turkey over a number of serious terrorism charges, but it was rejected by the Kilis Criminal Court in the country’s south in July.

Prakash has previously admitted being a member of Islamic State but said he had nothing to do with the group in Australia.

He faces a potential life sentence if convicted in Australia of terrorism offences.