Australia and war crimes?

They're Australia's elite soldiers whose extreme activities in the most hostile environments are very rarely acknowledged, let alone told.

But persistent and nagging whispers about serious misconduct by members of the secretive Special Air Service Regiment in Afghanistan forced their employer to act.

A cloistered military unit used to operating in the shadows has found itself under a shadow of dark suspicion.

A four-year inquiry, launched by the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) has been handed to the Chief of the Defence Force, with the Government set to release a redacted version next week. It's left many to wonder what will happen next.

There has long been chatter that international rules of armed conflict had been breached, that war crimes had been committed.

But the prospect of criminal charges isn't totally clear-cut.

Matthew Doran, Conclusion of war crimes inquiry just the beginning of a potentially mammoth legal process. ABC.new.au.