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Target ISIL: An RAAF Super Hornet leaves for the first combat mission in Iraq. Photo: Department of Defence

Australian special forces have been cleared to start work on the ground in Iraq, helping local troops as they face the grinding task of driving Islamic State fighters out of their stronghold towns and cities.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is expected to announce on Tuesday that the final legal hurdles with the Iraqi government have been cleared, meaning the Australian commandos can begin their "advise and assist" work with the Iraqis.

Illustration: Ron Tandberg.

The paperwork from Baghdad came as RAAF Super Hornet fighters returned safely to the United Arab Emirates from their first combat mission in Iraq, providing air cover for local troops in the country's north, though they did not launch weapons.

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But even as the RAAF missions began, Defence Minister David Johnston acknowledged that the Islamic State fighters were quickly adapting to air strikes.

"I think that's pretty certain that they will adapt very quickly not to be out in the open where the Iraqi security forces can call in an air strike," he said.

Air strikes would less frequently be against fixed targets but would rather be in support of Iraqi and Kurdish forces on the ground, as the US was currently doing in the besieged northern Syrian town of Kobani, he said.

But Senator Johnston acknowledged this would be harder in the major Islamic State strongholds in Iraq such as Fallujah, Ramadi and Tikrit, where the Iraqi forces would need to "step up" and drive the militants out.

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Iraq approves Aussie special forces on the ground