Officers will wear the decisions of the Lindt Cafe siege response for the rest of their lives, the NSW Police Commissioner says, as the force prepares to implement lessons learned from the fatal event.
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A new unit responsible for making sure vital information is shared easily and quickly, a shift in negotiation strategies and bravery commendations are on the cards following the siege inquest findings on Wednesday.
Of the recommendations NSW State Coroner Michael Barnes handed down, 28 related to the NSW Police Force.
The agency came under heavy scrutiny for how it handled the siege, orchestrated by Man Monis on December 15 and 16, 2014, and resulting in the death of two hostages.
While NSW Commissioner Mick Fuller conceded in hindsight, things should have been done differently he said the siege was an "unprecedented event".
"I'm standing here again saying we've learned lessons," he told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
"I think once people go through the recommendations, as the Commissioner, I will accept the criticism and I will ensure those lives are not lost in vain."
Mr Fuller said he would appoint an Assistant Commissioner to oversee a new intelligence unit tasked with making sure different areas of the force shared information easily.
The unit will also ensure information flows between the police force and other agencies - like ASIO and the Australian Federal Police.
The inquest heard while there was a plethora of information about Monis' volatile history and his political ideologies, only a trickle of it made its way to the police decision-makers throughout the siege.
Vital information about Monis' pending court cases - including the murder of his ex-wife and sexual assault of multiple women - was not readily shared between agencies.
As a result, Monis was on bail when he walked into the Lindt Cafe and held 18 people hostage with a shotgun.
The actions of the tactical police who stormed into the Martin Place cafe, thinking they wouldn't come out alive, was also acknowledged on Wednesday.
Police believed Monis was carrying a bomb in his backpack and that it could detonate by way of a "dead man's switch" if he was killed.
As the tactical operations unit were poised to storm the cafe just after 2am, many called their wives and families to say goodbye.
It is understood one officer asked his partner to send through photographs of his children so he could see them one last time.
Asked how the siege and the coronial process had impacted police morale, Mr Fuller said the past two years had been tough.
"Certainly not in the same sphere as the families and the friends who have lost loved ones and I'm not suggesting that by any means," he said.
"But we go into these operations wanting to save lives, and of course we will carry for the rest of our lives the loss of two decent people and it takes a hit on morale."
Mr Fuller said "absolutely" there would be recommendations for bravery but it was important to wait until the inquest was over.
He reiterated comments made by the coroner that Monis was the person to blame for the siege and this had been "lost in time, in terms of who is at fault".
