A powerful parliamentary committee has called for key elements of the Abbott government's controversial "foreign fighters" counter-terrorism bill to be watered down and additional checks applied, while backing the broad thrust of the bill.

Among the 36 changes being recommended by the bipartisan Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security are that police and spy agency powers to hold people without charge or restrict their movements should expire two years after the next federal election – significantly sooner than the 10-year "sunset clause" that the government is seeking.

The committee also calls for greater oversight of another controversial measure, that of the foreign minister's ability to declare a terrorist hotspot a "no go zone" making it a crime to travel there without an innocent reason.

It says whole countries should not be declared terrorist zones – only particular regions – and each declaration should be a "disallowable instrument", meaning it can be overturned by either house of Parliament. Also, that law should have a sunset clause at 24 months after the next election.

And it recommends that the bill should more clearly define what is meant by "advocating" terrorism – which would become a crime under the new law as distinct from the current crime of inciting terrorist acts, which is considerably more specific. Muslim groups and lawyers have protested that legitimate debate could be criminalised because the current wording of the law is far too broad.

On the whole, the committee has backed the thrust of the bill, largely calling for elements to be watered down or for additional oversight to be applied, rather than measures scrapped altogether.

Friday's report will now be considered by the federal government ahead of a vote expected by the end of the month by MPs on the bill, which Attorney General George Brandis says is crucial to fighting terrorism in the age of the Islamic State.

The report is likely to be taken seriously as the committee is dominated by Coalition MPs and includes senior Labor figures including foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek, trade and investment spokeswoman Penny Wong and defence spokesman Stephen Conroy.

One other significant recommendation is that new laws should have to be passed if the government wants to collect and store "biometric data" such as finger prints and iris scans from international travellers as well as head and shoulders photos.

So-called police "preventative detention orders" and "control orders", created under the former Howard government after the 2005 London bombings, are due to expire at the end of next year.

Howard-era powers allowing ASIO to question and detain people over terrorism suspicions are similarly due to expire in mid 2016.

The government wanted to extend the sunset clause on all of these powers for another 10 years – a move that attracted criticism because the powers have been little used. Control orders have been used just twice and preventive detention orders were used for the first time just recently to detain three people after the Sydney terrorism raids.

Instead, the committee says, the laws should expire 24 months after the next federal election unless new legislation is passed.

In addition, a re-established Independent National Security Legislation Monitor – a position the government abolished but then decided to reinstate – will review these laws 12 months after the next election. The parliamentary committee will also review the laws performance 18 months after the election.

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