A secret review into Australia's military justice system has been accidentally leaked by a royal commission, forcing the government to make it public.
The report examined the office of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force.
It recommended making the agency more independent to combat a perception of being too closely linked to the ADF's top brass.
The review was published on the website of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide as evidence presented to the inquiry but quickly taken down.
It was later made public by the government after being circulated online.
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie spent months demanding the review's release.
She found an ally in Greens senator David Shoebridge, whose office found the report online.
But when he tried to table the document in federal parliament it had been removed.
The pair called a press conference on Wednesday to rage against the fumbled handling of the report.
They accused the government of trying to hide the findings and questioned its commitment to fixing cultural problems within Defence.
Senator Lambie blamed the minister for the bungle, claiming he sat on the report.
"He is like a deer in the headlights," she said.
"He doesn't want to take on a top brass because he doesn't have the courage ... he doesn't have what it takes."
Richard Marles struck back at the suggestion, saying he was considering the review in conjunction with the royal commission's final report.
"To respond to one report in isolation of the other would be impractical and ineffective," a spokesperson for the minister said.
The royal commission accepted blame for the blunder.
It inadvertently included a redacted version of the report in a large bundle of exhibits prepared for publication on the royal commission's website.
When the mistake was discovered, the official secretary decided to remove the report from its website.
The commission does not generally publish reports provided to government that have not been released.
The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force is essentially an independent umpire, helping personnel and their families navigate the military justice system.
The report found the inspector-general's office was "umbillically linked" to the command structure of the ADF.
It recommended legislation designed to distance the agency from defence as well as the recruitment of additional staff.
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