Wyatt Roy's travel to an Iraq war zone is "irresponsible" and done in defiance of government advice, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says.
The former Liberal MP was caught in the crossfire between Islamic State and Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq near an area Australians are legally banned from visiting.
Mr Roy, who lost his Queensland seat in July's election, says he travelled to Iraq because he wanted to see the conflict for himself.
In footage supplied to SBS, Mr Roy appears to be caught up in gunfire, telling the broadcaster the danger of being hit was too serious to flee initially.
"Once (the Peshmerga) had pushed them (IS) back, they were very adamant that we get in the car and drive as fast as we could in the other direction," he told SBS.
Mr Roy was driven to Sinjar, which was overrun by IS in 2014 and retaken by Kurdish forces late last year.
He said the Peshmerga called in an airstrike and within half an hour, jets were overhead.
"It is irresponsible of Wyatt Roy to travel to the front line of the conflict between ISIL and Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq, in a region regarded as very high risk," his former colleague Ms Bishop said on Thursday.
"He has placed himself at risk of physical harm and capture, and acted in defiance of government advice.
"Mr Roy did not seek nor did he receive assistance from the Australian government for his travel to Iraq."
Ms Bishop urged other Australians not to follow Mr Roy's example.
Opposition Senate leader Penny Wong echoed Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, saying the fight against IS should be left to the military, not "cowboys" who put themselves in harm's way.
"War zones are not places for people to act out their boyhood fantasies," she said.
"This is a very unwise and dangerous act for a former LNP member of parliament, who should be expected to know better."
Australians are banned from visiting the Mosul region, which is about 125km east of where Mr Roy was on the front line.
