Australian commando Mason Kerrin Edwards had survived two dangerous deployments to Afghanistan.
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He was killed during a live fire exercise in South Australia as he prepared for a third tour.
The Defence Department has been fined $220,000 for Lance Corporal Edwards' death and the wounding of a second soldier in 2009.
The Federal Court found Defence had breached the health and safety laws by not providing correct supervision, and failing to take all reasonably practicable steps to provide and maintain a working environment for employees that was safe and without risk to their health.
Corporal Edwards died when shot in the head by small-arms fire that passed through a wall he was crouching behind during a live ammunition training drill at the Cultana Range Training Area on the night of October 20.
A second Special Forces soldier was wounded when hit by three rounds.
Two of the rounds struck the front and top of his helmet and caused no physical damage to him.
But a third round hit his rifle and deflected into his left forearm.
The 30-year-old Lance-Corporal and comrades from A Platoon, Second Commando Regiment, had been practicing attacking Afghan-style compounds at the time in preparation for a deployment to Afghanistan in early 2010.
The exercises had been intended to consolidate and develop the soldiers' combat skills, situation awareness, weapons and equipment proficiency and other tactics, techniques and procedures required for deployment.
The court heard Corporal Edwards and his comrade had been directly behind targets at which the other group of participants were shooting when live firing started.
Neither man should have been there.
The targets were behind a penetrable wall and those firing could not see they were firing at their comrades.
A Federal Court lawsuit brought by Comcare sought a declaration and fine against the Commonwealth of Australia for breaching OHS laws.
The Commonwealth admitted the contravention and co-operated in the drafting of a confidential agreed statement of facts.
Some of the facts were ordered to stay secret due to national security reasons.
Comcare and the Commonwealth agreed that the systems, procedures and policies that the Commonwealth had in place were not sufficient to protect the health and safety of employees.
The court heard Defence had since implemented "substantial remedial measures" to fix deficiencies that led to the tragic incident.
During a September hearing, a statement from Corporal Edwards' mother gave evidence of the emotional, financial and personal impact of his death on his family.
The court also read a confidential affidavit by Major-General Peter Gilmore that conveyed deep regret at the failure to protect the soldiers, but also defended the need for the type of training to help Australian forces prepare for operations.
Justice Lindsay Foster found serious shortcomings in the execution of protocols and processes governing live fire exercises.
He said briefings had not been carried out correctly, the wrong people had been in charge of the wrong components of the exercise, the safety manual for the exercise was inadequate, and there was no system to evaluate the effectiveness of safety procedures.
"I cannot ignore the catastrophic consequences of the Commonwealth's neglect," Justice Foster said.
"The contravention led directly to the death of a fine young man who was conducting himself impeccably in the service of his country and who had already gone into harm's way on more than one occasion in the service of his country.
"On the other hand, the Commonwealth has taken serious and considered steps over time to minimise the risk to its ADF soldiers."
Comcare chief executive Jennifer Taylor said the case reinforced the need for employers to take every practicable step to ensure the safety of their workforce.
"This is particularly important for work that is inherently dangerous, as is the case with many tasks performed by Defence personnel," Ms Taylor said.
