Australia's army chief has indicated to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide he is open to the creation of an external process for reporting and investigating misbehaviour claims.
The inquiry will for the next fortnight probe what defence is doing to address issues with its culture and the support being provided to veterans.
The commission has previously been told accounts of bullying, poor treatment of women, a lack of support for veterans and new recruits being forced to undertake hazing initiation rituals.
Suicide rates are 24 per cent higher for ex-serving men and double for ex-serving women than in Australia's general population.
Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, who has held the top job since mid-2018, said the army was trying to create an environment where people could put their hand up and seek assistance.
"Are there real or perceived barriers or impediments to that? You have to think in some places that would be the case," he told the commission on Monday.
"We are trying to promote, through positive examples of people doing that, and being supported through that process ... that increased awareness of others doing it promotes more people to do it.
"As an army culture ... those are the things we always need to continue to work on."
Commission Chair Nick Kaldas asked Lt Gen Burr if the creation of a complaints investigation body outside of the military chain of command and the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force would work.
"As long as it doesn't add to the confusion of all the different chains. A guaranteed way of having their voice heard, if that's what is required, then yes," he said.
Warrant Officer Grant McFarlane, who has served in the army for more than 40 years, agreed.
"It's the right thing to do, but so long as we are not making it more complex and, more importantly, our people are still looked after regardless," he said.
The inquiry heard a survey undertaken in 2021 at the Royal Military College at Duntroon found 42 per cent of staff cadets experienced "unacceptable behaviour".
Lt Gen Burr said the army put out a directive on bystander behaviour last year, indicating those who witness unacceptable behaviour are just as accountable as the perpetrators.
He indicated the directive had been applied and "a number of people have left the army as a result".
At hearings in February, Veterans' Affairs bureaucrats were grilled about a growing backlog in compensation claims, higher than they were in August 2021.
Claims were taking 200 days on average to process.
The royal commission was established last year after Prime Minister Scott Morrison bowed to political pressure after first trying to win over proponents with a permanent independent commissioner.
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