The $443.4 million grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation was intended to be a "trial case" to see if non-profit groups could be used to deliver "big government programs", documents released to a Senate inquiry show.

The "trial" comment was attributed to Russell Reichelt, who is chairman and chief executive of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and also a board member of the foundation.

Giving a huge wad of cash to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation was expected to be a 'trial case' for other big government projects, a document shows. Credit:Gary Cranitch

The partnership between the foundation and the Turnbull government "has been discussed for a long time," Dr Reichelt is reported to have told a meeting on June 11, according to an email sent the following day by David Souter, research manager at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, to institute chief Paul Hardisty.

The arrangement could be "similar to [the] national monument arrangement in the US", the email said. "This is a trial case to see if not-for-profits can be used to deliver big government programs."