The Defence Department says appropriate water and first aid supplies were on hand in the aftermath of a 2015 bus crash in which three recruits were seriously injured, contradicting a scathing report which highlighted challenges at the remote accident site.
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A review of the crash at Windellama, about 50km south-east of Goulburn, in November 2015 found Australian Defence Force Academy recruits were travelling without mass first aid supplies, adequate shade systems, satellite phones or bottled water, with a passing property owner the only person able to raise the alarm.
Three passengers were seriously injured in the crash and had to be airlifted to Canberra and Sydney while nine others were taken by road to Goulburn. The cadets and midshipmen were returning from a training exercise at HMAS Creswell at Jervis Bay.
An official review of the crash and emergency response by the Defence Department, released under freedom of information this week, showed the injured were initially treated with optional first aid kits carried by some of the cadets and passersby, while no full passenger manifest had been prepared for the four-bus convoy.
It said there was no water carried on the buses available to the passengers, only optional first aid kits were available and mobile phone coverage was severely limited.
A Defence spokeswoman said on Thursday the majority of the officer cadets and midshipmen involved in the crash had since graduated from the academy, while some of the most seriously injured were advancing well in recovery and rehabilitation while continuing study.
"There were appropriate first aid supplies and water available at the time of the accident, which were used to provide assistance to the injured at the scene while waiting for emergency service response," the spokeswoman said.
"Defence carried out reviews into the accident and the resulting recommendations are being considered. Defence is committed to ensuring that planning processes and control measures are improved as a result.
"ADFA staff, officer cadets and midshipmen reacted promptly at the scene and eight were formally recognised by Defence for their outstanding actions."
A nearby property owner, an Air Force warrant officer, called 000 about four minutes after the crash and a passing registered nurse and State Emergency Service volunteer helped administer first aid.
The bus driver has pleaded not guilty to charges of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and will face court in Sydney in October.
The report's seven recommendations included calls for first aid kits, water, adequate shade provisions and passenger manifests to be carried during future Defence exercises, as well as for more effective command and control measures to be in place.
