Sports clubs fear they will be punished if they criticise the sports grants scheme, even though hundreds were deserving of funds based on assessments by Sport Australia.

Key points: A grant writer who lodged 10 applications under the sport grants scheme says clubs are frustrated but are too scared to speak out

A grant writer who lodged 10 applications under the sport grants scheme says clubs are frustrated but are too scared to speak out The Government announced a new round of $150 million in funding for women's change rooms last year

The Government announced a new round of $150 million in funding for women's change rooms last year Sport Australia has changed its justification for not releasing the list of unsuccessful applicants

Queensland grant writer David O'Leary — who lodged 10 applications in the scheme, including five unsuccessful ones — said his clients were disappointed and angry.

"The first thing is there's almost a sense of predictability, 'I'm not surprised' — that was a couple of words that were said.

"Then it's frustration of 'it would be nice to know were we on a level playing field, how did our application stack up, it's really frustrating not to get any feedback'."

The Government announced a new $150 million fund for female change rooms in last year's budget.

Mr O'Leary said that new fund was keeping more people from speaking out.

"Our community volunteers are extremely reluctant to become too political for fear of retribution that it might impact on future applications," he said.

"If they start making waves about one grant program, does that mean they're going to be rejected and knocked back by their federal member?"

The auditor-general found all 684 recipients were eligible, but some seats were targeted for more funding than others.

More than 400 applications were given funding even though others received more favourable assessments from Sport Australia.

Was your club involved? Contact Jack.Snape@abc.net.au

Deserving projects everywhere, Treasurer says

Labor leader Anthony Albanese appeared at the Mount Lawley Bowling Club on Tuesday without club administrators.

When asked whether the club was too scared to speak out, Mr Albanese said "this is a Government that is prepared to engage in political activity to drive everything that it does".

"Nothing that it does, it would seem, is on the merits of the case."

Only a handful of clubs that were overlooked for grants have come out so far, including the Coledale Waves soccer club in New South Wales and the Fremantle Lawn Tennis Club in Western Australia.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said there were deserving projects in all electorates and a lot of them "survive off the smell of an oily rag".

"They're important meeting places for the community and we obviously want to encourage recreation and encourage more female participation in sport," he said.

"The projects were awarded to those eligible applications and those applications were made in the normal process."

Law firms Maurice Blackburn and Slater and Gordon issued a call-out on the weekend to unsuccessful applicants interested in potential legal challenges, but both firms said on Tuesday it was too early to discuss numbers.

Scores remain secret

Mr Albanese called on the Government to release where applicants ranked, and why they were successful or not successful.

"That's not a state secret, it's not something that's a threat from some foreign power," he said.

"It is just common decency that they should be prepared to do that so that the clubs might know as well if they got something wrong, if there's some way that could improve their application for a future grant program."

The national audit office found hundreds of unsuccessful applications received high scores. ( Supplied: ANAO )

Sport Australia refused a request in December as part of Senate estimates to release a list of overlooked applications "as the matters raised are subject to a performance audit by the Australian National Audit Office".

Even though the audit process has now concluded, the agency today rejected fresh calls to release a list of applications, citing "privacy and confidentiality reasons".

Sport Australia continues to refuse requests from individual clubs for scores and feedback.

The auditor-general found reasons for funding decisions were not clearly documented.