The chief of the Australian Navy has apologised for giving a full military funeral to a sailor who killed his former girlfriend​ and then jumped to his death from a Gold Coast building.

The apology follows a petition on change.org which said military funerals should be reserved for the "best" soldiers.

"Military funerals should be for the very best people in our society, not the worst," it said.

Kate Malonyay's body was found at her home in Sydney's north shore in April 2013.

Two days later her former boyfriend, Elliott Coulson, 32, who was absent without leave from the navy, killed himself by jumping from a 26th-floor Gold Coast apartment as detectives sought to question him over her death.

In August 2014, the NSW coroner concluded there was compelling evidence Coulson was responsible for Ms Malonyay's death.

The Department of Defence offers a variety of support to families when a serving member dies, including paying the reasonable costs of a military or private funeral.

Coulson was interred with full military honours with his coffin carried by uniformed sailors.

That sparked outrage, with a petition on change.org demanding the chief of the navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, donate the full funeral cost to the Homicide Victims Support Group, denounce Coulson's actions and apologise to Ms Malonyay's family.

The petition received more than 10,000 signatures.

Vice Admiral Barrett acknowledged the funeral had caused distress to Ms Malonyay's family, friends and the wider community.

"It was not navy's intent to cause this distress and for this I unreservedly apologise," he said in a statement on the Defence website.

"I will ensure navy's future application of defence policy in this area receives very close scrutiny."

Vice Admiral Barrett also told the ABC that he was "appalled at the brutal and violent murder at the hands of Elliott Coulson and I utterly condemn the abuse and violence that ended in her tragic death".

Vice Admiral Barrett said this incident, plus the navy's growing commitment to cultural reform, prompted it to seek accreditation through the White Ribbon Organisation, dedicated to ending men's violence against women.

Ms Malonyay's friend Melissa Meredith told ABC's Hitting Home documentary of her shock at the military's involvement in Coulson's funeral.

"Those kind of ceremonies are for heroes. This guy was not a hero," she told the ABC's Sarah Ferguson.

As a result of the documentary, the petition was launched asking the navy to apologise.

The woman who started the petition, Lauren Sams, told Lateline: "I just became so angry that something that is meant to be saved for the very best people in our society - people who put their lives on the line, people who risk their lives, who go out of their way, who spend their lives helping other people - something that's usually reserved for them was wasted on someone who represents the very worst in society."

with AAP

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