Mining giant BHP vouched for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation (GBRF) as part of the approval process for the foundation to receive $443 million from the government to help restore the reef.
The grant approval process occurred weeks after the funding was announced.
BuzzFeed News filed a freedom of information request for the grant approval documents and this week obtained 357 pages.
As part of the process the GBRF supplied three referee letters to the Department of Environment and Energy to vouch for the foundation's fundraising abilities and work on the reef, with the first letter coming from BHP.
In the letter BHP's manager of social investment in Australia, David Bunting, said the GBRF had had an association with BHP since 2007, when then BHP executive director Chris Lynch was on the foundation's chairman's panel. Current CEO of BHP Andrew Mackenzie is on the panel today.
"Over the term of our 11-year partnership GBRF has always fulfilled their contractual obligations, and strives to go above and beyond, delivering strong return on investment through employee engagement, profiling opportunities and joint outreach and communication activities such as World Science Festival," Bunting wrote.
In the letter, BHP says it has invested $15.4 million into the foundation for three projects, and will put in another $12.1 million for a reef resiliency project.
The foundation has long been criticised since the funding was announced for its ties to mining companies, with other groups including Rio Tinto, Origin Energy, AGL and Peabody Energy on its chairman's panel.
Included in the other documents released is a research portfolio on how best for coral reefs to adapt to climate change, put together by the foundation with the support of BHP and Mitsubishi.
The other two letters were from tech giant Google and the Queensland Department of Environment and Science. The Queensland Labor government gave the foundation $3 million for its eReefs program, and the department states in the letter that the foundation "delivered a 10-fold return" on investment, securing $32 million in funding over five years.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the foundation told BuzzFeed News that the foundation was required to provide references from a range of sectors.
"They [the referees] represent a mix of partners from industry and government who have a long working history with the foundation. They have all been involved in funding, designing and delivering complex projects in partnership with the foundation, and were well placed to vouch for our ability and experience," the spokesperson said.
Federal Labor wants the GBRF to return the $443 million in funding, and has suggested the organisation will be required to give it back if Labor wins the next federal election.
The Department of Environment and Energy refused to release 18 out of 33 documents as part of the FOI request on the grounds that they would reveal cabinet deliberations, legal advice, deliberative matters and operations of the department.
Many of the documents blocked from release included those that contained the arguments for and against giving the grant. Of the documents that were released, several were heavily redacted, including information about the due diligence process and the risks associated with giving the foundation such a large grant.
The FOI documents can be found here.
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