The Australian Defence Force has been fined $220,000 for breaching federal workplace laws over the fatal shooting of a soldier in a training exercise.
In the Federal Court in Canberra, Justice Lindsay Foster found the ADF breached safety laws in relation to the death of Lance Corporal Mason Edwards in 2009.
Lance Corporal Edwards, a special forces soldier, sustained fatal gunshot wounds during a night training exercise at the Cultana training area near Whyalla, in South Australia's mid-north.
A second soldier was wounded when he was hit by three rounds, two striking his helmet and one hitting his left arm.
A commission of inquiry report into the incident found Lance Corporal Edwards' death could have been avoided but the full report has not been released.
It prompted an overhaul of live-fire training practices.
The case against the ADF was brought by federal work health and safety regulator Comcare with Justice Foster delivering his findings earlier this month.
However, the judgment was made public only on Thursday with Comcare releasing details.
It said Justice Foster found the safety manual for the exercise was inadequate, there was no system to evaluate the effectiveness of safety procedures and safety personnel were not properly briefed.
He acknowledged that the ADF had taken serious and considered steps to minimise the risk to soldiers in such training exercises.
But he said he could not ignore the consequences of the neglect.
Comcare chief executive Jennifer Taylor said the case reinforced the need for employers to take every practicable step to ensure the safety of their workforce.
"This is particularly important for work that is inherently dangerous, as is the case with many tasks performed by Defence personnel," Ms Taylor said in a statement.
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