Defence Minister Richard Marles has told the defence and veteran suicide royal commission there have been issues of “timeliness and accuracy” relating to advice given to his office.

Mr Marles was questioned before the long running federal inquiry on Thursday about comments he’d made concerning culture within the senior leadership of the ADF.

Asked to provide examples, he wouldn’t be drawn but said secretary of defence Greg Moriarty and defence force chief General Angus Campbell had been “very important collaborators” in implementing what called a “standard of excellence”.

Asked why he chose to extend their terms if there were cultural problems, Mr Marles pointed to his previous answer where he spoke of their collaboration.

Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh described the performance of his department as “greatly improved”.

“This was a department that was frankly under resourced when we came into government; it’s now the best resourced it’s been in three decades,” he said.

Asked about evidence heard earlier in the week that defence didn’t have a reliable data set for sexual misconduct, Mr Keogh said it was a “current shortcoming”.

He said he had been briefed on the issue and was concerned he may be getting an incomplete picture.

“Those systems need to be better, absolutely,” Mr Keogh said.

“It’s a frustration that I engage with on a regular basis when trying to understand things that are going on within defence and to understand data.”

Former commander of Australia’s special forces Jeff Sengelman earlier told the inquiry it had been built on a foundation of sadness.

The retired major general was a driving force in the establishment of the Brereton war crimes inquiry, which found 25 Australians committed up to 39 murders in Afghanistan.

He said the issue of defence and veteran suicide was as “diverse and as complex” as people, and there was a time when he thought they were consequences of exposure to war and battle.

“That was the primary focus of my concern,” he said.

“I now realise that it’s much, much broader than that.”

General Sengelman said the inquiry was built on a foundation of “sadness, sad stories, terrible things” and traumatic events.

“I’ve got some inside of me,” he said.

“There’s lessons learnt that perhaps shouldn’t have been learned.

“Did I make mistakes as a leader, and in hindsight, do I regret them?

“Yes, yes.”

General Sengelman spoke about his experience transitioning to civilian life, with a medical appointment leaving him feeling “rubbish”.

He also suggested considering the merits of restorative justice, as there was a “lot of hurt and pain out there”.

“Every story we know affects a lot of people,” he said.

The royal commission is holding its final public hearings this month, with a final report to be handed down in early September.

The inquiry has heard from the family members of serving personnel who died by suicide.

In response to evidence given on Wednesday by a navy veteran, royal commission chair Nick Kaldas said he found it disappointing and concerning the events happened while the inquiry was taking place.

Mr Kaldas said the actions of some senior people within the ADF were carried out with an “air of impunity” with nothing done to hold anyone accountable.

An interim report released by the royal commission in August 2022 made 13 urgent recommendations to the federal government.

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This post was originally published on Michael West.