The primary police negotiator during the Lindt Cafe siege had never worked in a hostage situation and had no counter-terrorism experience other than role playing with colleagues, an inquest has heard.
The senior sergeant, identified only as "Peter", had undertaken four weeks of formal training as a negotiator in 2004 and two subsequent weeks in 2005 and 2006.
He then completed a counter-terrorism course in 2009, which included some training in relation to Islamic extremism.
"I don't think I've had any formal courses since 2009," he told the inquest on Monday, adding however, that he had been involved in more than 100 negotiations since 2004.
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Lindt cafe siege inquest: Negotiator had no prior terror experience
Asked by counsel assisting the coroner Jason Downing whether he had been involved in any hostage events, he replied: "I've been in role playing ... having hostages ... but I haven't done any real situations where there were hostages."
The officer, who has been with NSW Police for more than 29 years, also said he had never received any specific training or advice about whether the prospects of achieving a safe resolution in a terrorism situation were different to a domestic siege.
Peter also told the inquest he didn't think gunman Man Haron Monis was capable of carrying through on his threats, despite allegations he had committed 40 sexual assaults.
He said while he thought Monis may have been capable of "overt violence", the sexual assaults had been conducted in a "passive environment".
At the time Monis took control of the Martin Place cafe in December 2014, he had been facing more than 40 counts of sexual assault, as well as charges related to murder.
It had been alleged Monis committed the sexual assaults while acting as a spiritual healer.
"It was a passive sexual assault environment," the negotiator said.
Asked about Monis's extensive criminal history, he said: "It still wasn't enough for me to say whether this person was a violent man with a gun and a bomb (and whether he could) carry it through."
He also told the inquest into the 2014 siege that he is "not real good with technology", after being asked about missing recordings of conversations between negotiators and hostages, made in the early hours of the deadly event.
The recordings, which have never been found, cover a period up until 1.16pm on the day of the siege, during which the negotiation team worked from a 4WD, before moving to a cramped office at the nearby NSW Leagues Club.
The officer said he had not used a dictaphone before the siege, and could not remember what it looked like or what type it was. He later handed two dictaphones to a colleague.
"I'll let you know, I'm not real good with technology," he said.
Police ultimately stormed the cafe shortly after 2am on December 16, 2014 after Monis shot cafe manager Tori Johnson in the back of the head.
Hostages Katrina Dawson and Monis were killed when police stormed the cafe.
The inquest continues.
