The ARU is still waiting to hear why All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and assistant referee Jaco Peyper met before the weekend's Bledisloe Test, something it believes was not in keeping with the spirit of World Rugby regulations.
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Hansen has quashed claims he met with game two referee Romain Poite in the lead-up to his side's Bledisloe Cup clash with the Wallabies but admitted to having a meeting with Peyper, the man in charge for game one in Sydney.
Hansen claims he was asked by Peyper to the meeting, not the other way around, so he and scrum coach Mike Cron went along to discuss a number of things that came up from the All Blacks' 42-8 thumping in game one.
The Wallabies have since made an official complaint to World Rugby, asking them to investigate whether any meetings were held between a referee and New Zealand coaching staff.
Michael Cheika is allowed to ask for a meeting but the fact Peyper, as it's alleged by Hansen, called for the meeting, the ARU believe this is not completely within the spirit of World Rugby regulation 15.4.2.
The Australians believe there is little disparity between a head referee and an assistant, particularly if the assistant was in charge for the previous game.
The regulation states: "Any meeting with the referee involving participating Unions before any International Match, may only take place if a representative of both Unions involved in the Match is present, unless one of the Unions, having been offered the opportunity to attend a meeting with the referee elects not to do so, in which case the meeting may proceed with a representative of only one participating Union present."
Because Peyper was the assistant referee for the upcoming fixture, it is understood that is why Hansen might not have a case to answer.
World Rugby has been contacted about the matter and will discuss before delivering a response to the ARU.
If it is proven Peyper went to the All Blacks, it is interesting why he did not offer the same meeting to the Australians, who suffered a 34-point loss, which was their biggest on home soil.
There is a perception if Cheika and Wallabies scrum coach Mario Ledesma hypothetically met an assistant, without the All Blacks knowing, before a Test they went on to win and the offer was not extended to their opposition, they would face the same scrutiny as Hansen and Peyper.
There is no suggestion from the Wallabies a meeting with match officials would do anything to change the scoreline in Wellington in which the All Blacks clinched their 14th consecutive Bledisloe Cup.
"There's a clear protocol around the referees liaison in the country where the match is being hosted," Cheika said on Sunday. "We're not saying it shouldn't happen but we just want to go where the rule is. We gave it to them. They [World Rugby] will probably do nothing. Pretty clear they're not interested in our comments on the issue, so we've reported it back there so we'll see what they do. It's just a footnote for us."
Hansen said claims of a meeting with Poite were false and that he could not understand the issue with meeting Peyper.
"It's quite sad that's come out, isn't it, because it's not true," Hansen said. "[I said] g'day to Romain in the morning, he stayed here at this hotel. But I did have a meeting with Jaco Peyper this week at his request. I'm a firm believer that we're here to support the referees and help them. It's a difficult game to ref so why wouldn't you have the meeting?"
