Reviewing the impact of the deadly Bastille Day attack in July, where a militant driving a rented truck mowed down 86 people before he was shot and killed, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says France had been able to mobilise soldiers to boost domestic security.

But there is some confusion in Australia about the aid the ADF can offer state and territory police forces in domestic counter-terrorism situations, short of acting "in extremis".

Writing in the latest ASPI bulletin, terrorism experts Jacinta Carroll and Ashley Collingburn​ say that "in light of the French experience, the ADF's role in supporting domestic CT [counter-terror] should be reviewed to identify and inform how it might best support CT efforts".

"This would both optimise ADF contributions and enhance understanding of the ADF's capabilities and role."

The difficulties were recently alluded to by counsel assisting the Lindt cafe inquest, Jeremy Gormly SC, who suggested to NSW Coroner Michael Barnes that there might have been legal and institutional roadblocks to NSW police calling on the ADF for specific capabilities, short of a full handover, during the 2014 cafe siege by gunman Man Haron Monis.

"We have perhaps the unhealthy consequence of [a federal] system [where] the NSW Police Force are trying to manage a siege [and] don't have a capacity, but the people they deal with [the ADF] do but they can't access that capacity," Mr Gormly said.

The ADF stood up a tactical team from its Holsworthy base, tested police plans for storming the gunman at a mock-up of the cafe and had observers at the police forward command post, as well as at the state crisis centre, the Lindt inquest heard.

But they played no frontline role in bringing the siege to an end.

The ASPI paper also carries a warning about the vulnerability of regional areas to terrorism activity.

"One lesson from Nice for Australia is to be aware of terrorists targeting regional centres rather than higher profile and hardened capital cities," the authors said.