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The Commonwealth Games Federation was assured by the "highest level" of the Victorian government as recently as June that the 2026 Games budget was in hand.

But a month later on Tuesday, Premier Daniel Andrews pulled the plug on hosting the sporting event in regional Victoria, citing a cost blowout to up to $7 billion from an initial $2.6 billion last year.

Asked if the federation was aware of the blowout, one of its three vice presidents, New Zealander Kereyn Smith, said the board had "no awareness" of that figure.

"It was getting up toward the $3 billion conversation," she told ABC 7.30 on Wednesday, citing conversations at a board meeting held last month.

"There was awareness from the CGF board that we were awaiting budget announcements.

"But there had been assurances at the highest level ... to the Commonwealth Games Federation that the budget was in hand."

Ms Smith said there was even talk about potential cost reductions, which in her view could have been achieved.

"So certainly, you know, nothing in the figure of $6 billion or $7 billion," she said.

It was disappointing there was no conversation or dialogue with the Victorian government about its concerns, she said.

"And (in) our view, there were many ways you could have reduced the costs of the games if that was the major driver," Ms Smith said.

The fate of the 2026 Games is now in limbo as organisers scramble to try to find a home for the event after the leaders of every other Australian state and territory ruled out stepping in for Victoria.

Scotland is weighing up whether to host the Games, with First Minister Humza Yousaf saying he would investigate what might be possible.

"I have noted the comments from others that Scotland could look to be part of something bigger, part of a multi-city, multi-country host," Mr Yousaf told Scotland's STV News.

"I've asked my team to explore whether that's a possibility or not but it may be difficult, but let's see what the art of the possible is."

Ms Smith's remarks back the view of Games organisers who've disputed Mr Andrews' numbers and claim the Labor government ignored options such as moving the event to Melbourne.

Mr Andrews earlier on Wednesday said taking the Melbourne option would have cost a still too-high $4 billion.

Ms Smith warned Victoria was up for a "significant" bill for the cancellation.

"This is a significant undertaking and when you sign up to a Games, be it Olympic or Commonwealth, there are guarantees," she said.

"They're a commitment and they are contractual obligations."

Ms Smith said Mr Andrews did not seem to understand the significance of what his government had done.

"There's respect and there's integrity around the process ... it feels to me like those things have been compromised," she said.

Scotland has hosted the Commonwealth Games on three occasions - twice in Edinburgh, in 1970 and 1986, and most recently in Glasgow in 2014.

Victorian Liberal senator Jane Hume said the state government had mishandled the situation.

"This is because Victoria is broke," she told Seven's Sunrise.

"We are a failed state and it's because of the incompetence of this government."

Victoria was the only bidder for the 2026 Games, with five regional cities originally slated to host sporting events.

The state government had promised to pump $2 billion into the regions in housing, infrastructure and tourism spending.

It's the second time a Games host has dropped out in recent years after the South African city of Durban lost the 2022 event and Birmingham had to step in and take over.

The last time a Commonwealth Games was completely cancelled was during World War II.

With PA

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The cost of Victoria cancelling the 2026 Commonwealth Games remains a mystery, with the state government now locked in compensation talks.

Victoria has renounced hosting the 93-year-old global sports event, citing a forecast cost blowout from $2.6 billion to up to $7b in just over a year since the initial estimate was revealed.

Big four consulting firm EY was involved in formulating the original business case to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria but not the updated version.

Games organisers claim the revised figure is grossly exaggerated and the Labor government ignored cost-cutting options, including moving the event to Melbourne and reducing the number of sports and regional hubs.

In the regional town of Maryborough, Mr Andrews refused to publicly refute those claims as discussions with leaders of the Commonwealth Games in London to terminate its contract are underway.

"I will not put at risk the interest of Victorian taxpayers by running commentary and getting into an argument," he told reporters on Wednesday.

About a decade ago, the Queensland government investigated the cost of axing the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and determined it would be more than $1b. The Games went ahead.

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.

All other Australian states and territories have ruled out coming to the rescue.

Mr Andrews pledged to report the final cost but refused to speculate on what the final bill could be or say how much taxpayer money had already been spent preparing for the Games.

The premier said the government considered hosting the Games exclusively in Melbourne but suggested it still would have cost more than $4b.

He would not reveal who decided not to work with organisers to shift the Games but repeatedly reiterated Victoria's pitch was to host the event across the regions to reap legacy infrastructure and housing benefits.

No apology was offered to the 5000-odd athletes who were expected to compete across more than 20 sports or business owners in the selected regional hubs of Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepparton and Gippsland.

"I'm sorry that we are in this position but I'm not going to apologise for not 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 its deal with the Commonwealth Games Federation.

"They do it on a regular basis with a tight contract and the contract will be difficult to get out of," Mr Beattie told Nine's Today program.

The Victorian Auditor-General has been asked by the state opposition to investigate the taxpayer bill to cancel the Games and how the initial cost estimate was so far off the mark.

"Victoria's reputation has been blemished by the actions of the Andrews government and we can't let it stand," Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto said.

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Tools like ChatGPT could add tens of billions of dollars to the Australian economy by swallowing up repetitive manual tasks and making workers much more productive.

With Australia's sluggish productivity growth threatening the timely return of inflation to target and overall prosperity, tech industry research has mapped out the efficiency-boosting potential of generative artificial intelligence.

The research from the Tech Council of Australia and Microsoft claims the technology could add as much as $115 billion to the Australian economy annually within seven years, with the bulk of those gains eked out through higher productivity.

It could translate to a two to five per cent uplift in economic growth, depending on how rapidly Australia adopts it.

The research found 70 per cent of the economic value would come from an uplift in productivity across existing industries.

Another 20 per cent would come through quality gains and 10 per cent from new products and services.

Microsoft ANZ chief technology officer Lee Hickin said Australia was facing a "massive economic opportunity" and was tracking in the right direction to capture its benefits.

Australian businesses are already rushing to integrate the technology into their operations and the federal government is starting work on regulating the sector, which Mr Hickin told AAP would be critical to its successful take-up.

While the technology has generated a lot of excitement, it has also stoked fears of job losses to automation.

Mr Hickin said it would be an "additive" technology and would assist workers in their work, rather than replace them.

"In order to build into that productivity growth that the country needs to move into, we actually need people to deliver more with the time they have," he said.

"And the only way we can do that is by giving them tools and technology that allow them to operate at a high level, and AI is the tool to do that."

His remarks come as Reserve Bank boss Philip Lowe ratchets up his concerns about slow productivity growth, warning it could cause economic and social challenges.

The technology's ability to help workers do more with less comes down to its ability to automate repetitive tasks and serve as a "copilot" for more complex tasks.

In software development, for example, generative AI-powered tools are able to suggest entirely new ways to solve a problem and speed up the process.

At its present level of maturity, the technology has the potential to automate and augment 44 per cent of Australian workers' task hours, freeing up time for higher value work and increasing the quality of their output.

Mr Hickin said Australia was well placed to be an early adopter of the technology based on how it jumped on cloud computing and other opportunities.

Australia also had a strong and growing tech workforce which he said was a "good breeding ground" for early adoption.

Tech Council chief executive Kate Pounder said Australia needed to act swiftly to capture the "depth and breadth" of the opportunity.

"This isn't just about technological advancement - it's about Australia taking a leadership role on the global stage," Ms Pounder said.

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Victorian taxpayers could be on the hook for more than $1 billion in compensation after pulling the pin on hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Premier Daniel Andrews renounced hosting the global sports event in regional Victoria, citing a forecast cost blowout from $2.6b to up to $7b in just over a year.

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 cost of breaking the Games contract is yet to be settled, with further talks between the state government and organisers taking place after Tuesday's decision.

Mr Andrews refused to speculate on how much it could cost state taxpayers to exit the contract but pledged the figure would be accounted for.

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.

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.

Mr Andrews said his government considered other options to lower the Games' price tag, including reducing the number of sports and hubs or moving the Games to Melbourne, which still would have cost roughly $4b.

The premier suggested no contracts for major Games projects have been signed and minimal costs incurred to date.

State Opposition Leader John Pesutto said paying out compensation was an inevitability and called for Mr Andrews to consider his position.

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