Fresh investigation has been ordered into an alleged Navy sex scandal. Allegations suggest that sailors were running a sex ring aboard HMAS Success. The alleged sex ring, known as The Ledger, involved members detailing their conquests on paper and placing dollar values on each female sailor they had sex with during an overseas deployment in May last year.

Defence Minister John Faulkner said a retired senior judge would be appointed to head the fresh investigation.

"We need better procedures, we need better processes and I can assure the committee that I will take whatever action is necessary to implement them", Faulkner said.

Queensland Liberal Senator Russell Trood says the failed inquiry is another blow to the military justice system.

Trood was reported saying that he was disappointed in the context of the efforts that the committee had made to rehabilitate the military justice system.

Chief of the Defence Force Angus Houston said a Senate committee heard the trouble-plagued Collins class submarines were continuing to face maintenance dramas which left just one of the six ships available for operations. He regretted the need for a new inquiry into the allegations but expressed satisfaction on the fact that problems with the initial investigation had been identified.