The defence force has admitted it doesn't know how many victims of sexual assault remain under legal gag orders.
Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements used in military sexual assault cases were more common in previous decades, and while Defence says it has stopped the practice, women have come forward about the repercussions of remaining gagged.
"It's not our practice to use NDAs," Defence chief counsel Francesca Rush told a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday.
"It's usually only used through part of the process where there is mediation-type activities.
"Once the mediation process is at an end, the NDA is usually lifted and we do not stop people trying to tell their stories."
But she confirmed the department did not keep records regarding sexual assaults and corresponding non-disclosure agreements.
Australian Defence Force chief David Johnston committed to supporting victims.
"I recognise non-disclosure agreements have caused concern, and sometimes considerably, to victims," he said.
"The circumstances of those non-disclosure arrangements, of course, vary widely, particularly to meet the preferences for one of the parties.
"We would certainly offer to review each one of them on a case-by-case basis, were any of the parties to raise it with us and ask for a reconsideration of the terms of the NDA."
Greens senator David Shoebridge pushed Labor frontbencher Jenny McAllister, who was representing the defence minister at the inquiry, about annulling the historical agreements.
"Will your government seek to make it very clear, by way of a public pronouncement, that under your government, defence will not be permitted to enforce any historical NDAs contained in any settlements, payments or other agreements relating to sexual assault?"
Senator McAllister said she would refer the issue to the minister but reaffirmed the officials' comments.
The questioning followed the stories of multiple women telling AAP their ability to tell their stories had been restricted by non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements.
Some spoke of being too scared about potential repercussions to seek legal or medical advice, including for corrective surgeries for injuries sustained during sexual assaults that occurred while they were serving.
It was common for women to say they didn't know what documents they had signed during a traumatic experience that they just wanted over.
Defence whistleblower Julia Delaforce, who had her legal restrictions on her ability to tell her story altered in 2025 by Defence in a landmark move, is pushing for federal reform to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements to cover up sexual assaults in the military.
An independent inquiry into sexual assault in the military will begin in 2026 and assess barriers to reporting sexual misconduct, decisions not to prosecute and effective prevention and early intervention methods.
A standalone inquiry into sexual assault in the military was recommended by a royal commission into defence and veteran suicide, which found sexual misconduct was a systemic issue in the defence force.
Despite Defence saying it was enacting reforms to target the issue, its latest annual report revealed a major spike in sexual offences with 215 reported to military police in the 2024/25 financial year.
This is up from 167 from the previous year.
There have been 969 sexual offences reported between 2020/21 to 2024/25, higher than the more than 800 in five years that Defence disclosed to the royal commission, the final report of which was handed down in 2024.
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