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Australia and Iran have reached a tentative intelligence sharing agreement to combat Islamic State militants fighting in the Middle East, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday, according to Reuters.

Australia has sent hundreds of soldiers to Iraq to help train forces fighting the Islamic State group, heightening concerns about reprisal attacks at home.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this week became the first top diplomat from Australia to visit Iran in a decade. She said the two countries had a common purpose in defeating Islamic State extremists.

"It was an informal arrangement whereby we'd share intelligence that would give us information on the Australians who are taking part," she said.

"I believe Iran has information that we would seek and they were very agreeable to share that information with us."

Representatives from the Australian Foreign Ministry could not be reached immediately either in Canberra or Tehran.