War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith will remain in custody after his lawyers made no application for bail in his first court appearance since his arrest.

The 47-year-old was charged with five counts of the war crime of murder, related to his time in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012, on Tuesday.

The Victoria Cross recipient is accused of being involved in the murders of unarmed Afghan nationals who were not taking part in hostilities and were detained.

Mr Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport after getting off a flight from Brisbane on Tuesday morning and charged as part of a five-year investigation by the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator.

Prosecutors will allege that during several tours of Afghanistan with the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment, Mr Roberts-Smith allegedly shot unarmed civilians and ordered subordinates in the unit to shoot other Afghan nationals. 

He has long denied the allegations since they first emerged in media reports in 2018.

A man with a blurred face is arrested by uniformed police officers.

Mr Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday. (Supplied: Australian Federal Police)

Mr Roberts-Smith, who spent the night in Sydney’s Silverwater Correctional Complex, was not required to appear when the case came before Judge Lucas Swan in a virtual court on Wednesday morning.

His defence lawyer Jordan Portokalli sought an in-person listing for later in the day.

“We’re seeking that the matter be relisted for mention preferably today at Downing Centre, but we understand that might be a bit of a pipe dream, but as soon as is possible,” Mr Portokalli said.

Judge Swan agreed the request was “very much so a pipe dream” and said that both parties had already spoken with the chief magistrate about this on Tuesday.

He directed Mr Portokalli to contact the Chief Magistrate’s Office again to ask for a mention hearing for “today or at a future date” before the matter is expected to return to court on June 4.