ADF victims are now less likely to take formal action after an incident than they were a decade ago and are rarely told of outcomes when they do, despite a "journey of cultural reform", with particular emphasis on the treatment of women, diversity and upholding of Defence values, a new review of military justice arrangements found.

The review, initiated by the independent Defence Force Inspector General in wake of the 10-year anniversary of the Skype incident and subsequent reviews, was released on a little-known part of the Defence website without public notice on Monday.

Defence is reviewing the report and recommendations, which includes assigning targets and timeframes to Defence's sexual misconduct policy, including more information about consent in mandatory training, and putting a greater focus on perpetrators and prevention.

Defence commanders had "limited awareness" of what constituted sexual consent when alcohol was present, which it was in the majority of reported cases in the ADF, according to former sex discrimination commissioner Pru Goward, who undertook the review.

Few commanders recognised the impact alcohol had on perpetrators and risks, she noted, describing a culture of "perpetrator invisibility" not unlike other workplaces.

"The understanding of perpetrators of sexual misconduct in the ADF is limited and consequently behaviour change programs cannot be appropriately developed and targeted for perpetrators," Ms Goward wrote.

Commanding officers struggled between the competing principles of privacy and providing closure for victims who frequently could not discover if the perpetrator received any sanction following a substantiated report.

The organisation created to drive down Defence's sexual misconduct cases and advise commanders had a victim-centric focus, but comparatively little focus on perpetrators or prevention. As the number of victims went up, the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office was given no targets and set none of its own.

The Canberra Times has made multiple requests to Defence over the past 12 month to interview the head of the SeMPRO office after learning of the rising numbers of sexual misconduct cases in unpublished Defence data. All requests were denied.

Ms Goward urged Defence to look at successful programs in other militaries and show greater transparency of the disciplinary and administrative outcomes of substantiated complaints of sexual misconduct, and include those de-identified outcomes in the mandatory awareness training.

"The significant decline in action taken by victims of sexual misconduct may have increased risk to the ADF and to future victims," she wrote, adding this would typically indicate a lack of confidence in the employer's policy.

Ms Goward noted there was "no culture of evaluation in the ADF" that would help improve the declining workplace environment but data gathering and analysis reform in the department could improve the organisation's understand of the risks and why victims were not taking action.

Currently it was "impossible" to determine if SeMPRO or any other program in Defence was effective in preventing sexual misconduct or promoting confidence in the policy, she wrote.

The chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell came under fire last year after it was revealed in the Canberra Times he had put the onus on first year cadets to not make themselves "prey" to sexual predicators.

He described "Four As" in the speech to newly inducted cadets at ADFA - alcohol, out after midnight, alone and attractive - as risk factors they should watch to protect themselves. He later clarified he had not intended to excuse assaults.

Then Australian of the Year Grace Tame labelled the Four As comments as "unhelpful", while another former sex discrimination commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick who was commissioned to undertake reviews following the Skype incident defended General Campbell as a "strong agent of change".

The revelation came as the nation was dealing with a reckoning on the prevalence and power imbalance in workplace sexual assaults, sparked by former political staffer Brittany Higgins coming forward with a claim of being raped inside the Defence minister's office by a colleague after a workplace function.

Ms Goward weighed into that national conversation, writing in her newspaper column in February last year that conduct needs to be reinforced from the top: "That is the best form of prevention; some call it culture change. It's leadership."