Defence abusers 'remain in the ranks'

At least a dozen people responsible for alleged sexual assaults on female cadets at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) are still in the defence force, along with seven of their victims.

In its fourth interim report, the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce said the Australian Defence Force Investigative Service investigation made it clear there was a high incidence of sexual offending at ADFA in the 1990s.

The former Labor government founded the task force, leaving open the option of a royal commission to get to the bottom of 24 ADFA cases - 15 rapes and nine sexual assaults allegedly committed by male ADFA cadets against female cadets between 1994 and 1998.

Task force chairman Len Roberts-Smith QC has found defence seriously mismanaged these cases.

There had been no successful criminal prosecutions in any case and defence had taken no appropriate disciplinary or administrative action in most, he said in the report.

"The task force believes there are at least 12 currently serving members of defence suspected of committing sexual or other offences at ADFA in the 1990s," he said.

"The task force believes there are at least seven alleged victims of such offences who are still serving in defence."

However, Mr Roberts-Smith said that while he hadn't reached a final conclusion, he believed a royal commission may not be the best way to proceed.

So far just six victims have made complaints to the task force.

For a royal commission to proceed in other cases, it would need to compel reluctant victims to testify.

As well, testimony from alleged abusers could not be used in any future prosecution.

"It is unlikely that a royal commission would lead to criminal prosecutions of any individual given the time that has elapsed since the alleged abuse and the ongoing issue that the alleged victims in many instances are unlikely to want to make a report," Mr Roberts-Smith said.