Fewer than 17 per cent of federal government business grants are awarded with proper competitive assessments between applicants, and a new snapshot has found almost $1 billion of taxpayers’ money is paid out annually with virtually no strings attached.

New research by Deakin University academics found that, between 2018 and 2022, about $540 million was paid out in ad hoc grants, often awarded at the discretion of government ministers, almost entirely hidden from public scrutiny and with only “negligible oversight”.