'Simply made sure': Minister defends sports grants after auditor report

All but one change was in relation to the $15 million Female Facilities Program, launched in 2018, in which Mr de Brenni approved 18 eligible grants that had not been recommended and rejected 14 that had.

The changes caused the share of grants awarded in Labor-held seats to grow from 44 per cent to 68 per cent, while dropping from 43 per cent to 28 per cent in LNP electorates.

This finding in particular has sparked claims of pork barrelling from LNP sports spokesman John-Paul Langbroek and calls for Mr de Brenni's sacking, with the minister defending his actions in multiple radio interviews on Wednesday morning.

"I simply made sure that the successful applicants were aligned to the government's policy intent," Mr de Brenni told 4BC.

He said the department had "struggled" to objectively assess some applications within the new program, citing one example of a soccer club that was not recommended as it was incorrectly found to not have a female team.

A rugby league club was not recommended for funding as it had already received money for a field upgrade under another program, despite this not being a factor in the guidelines.

"I would have expected the department would have checked in on that stuff, they've got people on the ground right across the state," Mr de Brenni said.

"If they've just relied on the best grant applications that rich clubs have had to fork out for, rather than actually enquiring into some of those questions, then I had to make sure that we got it right."

Also speaking on 4BC on Wednesday morning, Mr Langbroek called on the government to reveal which clubs had been given or denied funding against the department's advice and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to sack her minister.

"That is a rort if ever I've seen one," he said of the female facilities funding. "Show some leadership and get rid of Mick de Brenni."

Two of the grants not recommended by the department fell within Mr de Brenni's Springwood seat, though he did not have any personal interest in the clubs. Overall funding across the 2900 grants awarded in all programs was found to be split evenly across both major party-held electorates, with a 45 per cent share each.

Mr Worrall said as the department had changed processes around sports grants in February to place the director-general at the centre of decision making, his office did not make any specific recommendations to it.

But changes were recommended to a Treasury handbook to give "clarity" on the role of a minister in selecting and approving grants, and related training for both them and their staff.

Earlier this year, the federal audit office released a scathing report into the Community Sport Infrastructure Grants program that found a parallel process run out of Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie's office, with more grants going to marginal seats.

Senator McKenzie later resigned her portfolio after failing to declare her membership of a shooting club that received funding under the program.