An ex-SAS soldier awaiting trial over an alleged war crime in Afghanistan has criticised the slow speed of the government in allowing him access to evidence in the case.
Oliver Jordan Schulz, 41, was arrested 99 days ago, charged with unlawfully killing a civilian while deployed in Afghanistan in 2012.
On Tuesday, Magistrate Susan Horan approved a regime giving him access to a first tranche of material after the Commonwealth and Department of Defence deemed it to have no or low sensitivity regarding national security.
Schulz's lawyer Karen Espiner said her client and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions had agreed to the regime "quite some time ago" but that getting the green light by the government had taken longer.
"It does still leave Mr Schulz in the position of simply waiting to receive a single item from the Commonwealth," she told Downing Centre Local Court.
Ms Espiner said her client was entitled to have the case progress as expeditiously as possible.
"I would ask the court to do whatever it can," she said.
The court's orders will now act as a "shortcut" or "short circuit" through the complexities of the National Security Information Act and will allow Schulz to access any future material deemed to have no or low sensitivity.
However, a further application will need to be made allowing him and his lawyers access to restricted material with the act setting down strict requirements for the viewing, handling and storage of classified documents.
Schulz is accused of approaching Dad Mohammad in a wheat field in Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province and then firing three shots at the a 25 or 26-year-old while he was on his back with his hands and knees raised.
Mr Mohammad's father later made a complaint to the Australian Defence Force, alleging his son had been shot in the head.
In March, Schulz was granted bail despite the seriousness of the alleged crime after a magistrate found he was at a high risk from Taliban attack if he remained behind bars.
Orders were also made barring the public from reporting the town and region where he resides to protect his family from retaliation by the Islamic fundamentalist group.
The matter will return to court on September 5.
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Australian Associated Press
