The cost of Victoria cancelling the 2026 Commonwealth Games remains a mystery as talks continue between the state government and the global sport event's leaders.
Victoria has renounced hosting the Games, citing a forecast cost blowout from $2.6b to up to $7b.
The Victorian government has confirmed Ernst & Young was involved in the initial $2.6b estimate outlined in the last year's state budget and the latest business case will be released, subject to legal advice.
The updated costing has been fiercely disputed by organisers who claim the state government ignored cost-cutting options such as moving the event to Melbourne.
In the regional town of Maryborough on Wednesday, Mr Andrews refused to publicly argue with organisers amid discussions with leaders of the Commonwealth Games in London to terminate its contract.
"I'm not going to enter into a quarrel, an argument, with those people," he told reporters.
"Some of the people who have been very critical, they're not funding it."
About a decade ago, the Queensland government investigated the cost of axing the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and determined it to be more than $1 billion.
The figure was revealed in estimates in 2018 and it could come in higher for Victoria given skyrocketing inflation and the limited time for organisers to find a replacement host.
The cost of breaking the Games contract is yet to be settled but Mr Andrews pledged to report the final cost.
The premier refused to speculate on the scope of compensation that could be paid for reneging on the contract or say how much taxpayer money has already been spent preparing for the now-cancelled Games.
Mr Andrews said hosting the Games exclusively in Melbourne was the cheapest alternative but still would have cost about $4b.
No direct apology was offered to the 5000-odd athletes who were expected to compete across more than 20 sports.
"I'm sorry we find ourselves here ... but I'm not going to apologise for taking money out of hospitals and schools," the premier said.
Former Queensland Peter Beattie, who chaired the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, warned it won't be easy for Victoria to break the contract.
"The Commonwealth Games Federation does this every four years," Mr Beattie told Nine's Today program.
"They do it on a regular basis with a tight contract and the contract will be difficult to get out of."
It's not the first time the Andrews government has spent taxpayers' money to break a signed contract.
A $642 million termination settlement was paid out to scrap Melbourne's East West Link road project despite Mr Andrews declaring the contract could be ripped up at no cost before the 2014 state election.
State Opposition Leader John Pesutto said paying out compensation to the federation was an inevitability and called for Mr Andrews to consider his position.
