A defence report into the deaths of three Australian soldiers in an insider attack in Afghanistan should remain censored despite their families calling for more information, the defence minister says.
Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Sapper James Martin and Private Robert Poate were allegedly shot dead by Afghan sergeant Hekmatullah in Oruzgan province last year.
The victims' families called for a coronial inquest into the incident following the release of a highly-censored Australian Defence Force (ADF) report into the deaths last month.
But Defence Minister David Johnston said such reports should remain "virtually unintelligible" to protect personnel still in Afghanistan.
"For us to discuss the factual circumstances of any of our deaths in action is not appropriate," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
"I'm really opposed to doing that."
Redacting passages was important to prevent further "green-on-blue" attacks by concealing operational routines and capabilities, Mr Johnston said.
"(The) enemy over there in Afghanistan is not just a common, garden variety insurgent," he said.
Mr Johnston said the censored report into the soldiers' deaths was acceptable and it would be inappropriate for any subsequent investigation to "stick (its) nose" into the defence forces.
But a coroner should consider the interests of the victims' families if an inquest is undertaken, he added.
The three men died and two other diggers were injured when Hekmatullah fired 10 to 15 automatic rounds at Australian soldiers playing cards inside a patrol base in August 2012.
The inquiry officer found the level of security was too relaxed and some soldiers were not wearing their body armour at the time of the attack.
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