EVACUATION procedures for wounded soldiers in Afghanistan are appropriate and were not to blame for the death last month of Signalman Sean McCarthy, an internal Defence Force review has found.

The review follows allegations that it took almost two hours to evacuate Signalman McCarthy - rather than 20 minutes - because a United States helicopter gunship was not available to escort a Dutch medical helicopter.

Five weeks later, two wounded soldiers waited more than five hours on the battlefield to be evacuated to a hospital about 20 kilometres away.

But the Defence review, yet to be published, found the evacuation of Signalman McCarthy, who bled to death, was conducted properly. The dispatch of medical aircraft is co-ordinated by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, which sets a two-hour "envelope" for evacuations.

"The ADF is satisfied that the ISAF aero-medical evacuation support arrangements provided for our personnel in Afghanistan are appropriate," a Defence spokesman told the Herald .

"It is important to note that Australia is part of the ISAF mission and draws heavily on the helicopter support provided by our allies … Missions are assigned from [ISAF's] headquarters and performed by the appropriate aircraft and crew regardless of nationality."

Signalman McCarthy, 25, a member of a Special Air Service Regiment task group, became the sixth Australian soldier to die in the seven-year-old war in Afghanistan after his vehicle was caught in a roadside bombing.

The circumstances surrounding his evacuation were investigated by the commander of Australia's Middle East forces, Major General Mike Hindmarsh. These findings fed into a broader inquiry - covering the death of Signalman McCarthy - which was ordered by the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. A report from the inquiry will be sent to the Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon.