A retired judge has been asked to report back on whether David Bain is probably innocent - and, if the answer is yes, whether he is innocent beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Minister Amy Adams said "clarified" instructions had been given to Ian Callinan, a former Justice of the High Court of Australia.
He will head a new inquiry into Mr Bain's compensation claim.
"I am confident we won't have a repeat of the misunderstandings that we saw in the earlier report," Ms Adams said.
Within six months Mr Callinan will say if he is satisfied that Mr Bain has proven his innocence on the balance of probabilities.