A handpicked agency of investigators to prosecute Special Forces soldiers for war crimes in Afghanistan – including claims unarmed civilians and children were murdered – is still at “least a couple of months” away from actually examining wrongdoing committed on the battlefield.

The head of the Office of Special Investigator also revealed that it has asked the Australian Government Solicitor to review the findings of an inquiry that unearthed the allegations of war crimes to “quarantine” inadmissible evidence that cannot be used for prosecutions.