The scandal “saw tens of millions of dollars in sporting club grants awarded to clubs whose applications for funding would otherwise have been unsuccessful, after the minister for sport applied her own decision-making criteria to overrule the merit-based assessments made by Sport Australia”, S&G said in a statement.

“The grants, made as a result of the minister’s intervention, favoured a high proportion of clubs that did not score highly enough for funding based on Sport Australia’s assessments, and in the context of a federal election campaign disproportionately benefited clubs in marginal and ‘targeted’ seats.”

While National leader Michael McCormack backed his deputy over the weekend, amidst calls for her to resign, Slaters said on Sunday that it is investigating a possible class action in the wake of the audit.

The clubs that Sport Australia decided were worthy of funding but missed out may have rights to seek legal remedies, according to class actions practice group leader Andrew Baker.

“Every dollar that went to a club whose application should have been unsuccessful is a dollar that didn’t end up with a club that Sport Australia had identified and recommended for funding in the course of proper processes,” he said.

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“These community organisations, clubs and groups have lost out because it appears public funds were used for political gain. After a thorough investigation, the Australian National Audit Office has stated that there was no legal authority evident to it which allowed the minister to approve the grants, rather than Sport Australia.

“This raises serious questions about the lawfulness of the conduct involved. In these circumstances, the clubs that have suffered because of any unlawful conduct may have rights to seek legal remedy.”