Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and senior bureaucrats say renovations at the Prime Minister's official Canberra residence were successful, despite a $12 million price tag and 42 variations to the main contract.
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Facing a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday night, Senator Cormann and Finance Department secretary Jane Halton maintained renovations at The Lodge had been delivered on budget.
Their comments come as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ordered a $45,000 review of the project by Braddon-based management consultancy firm Projects Assured.
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Senator Cormann and department officials wouldn't say if the audit report would be made public after it is delivered to government at the end of the month.
The costs of heritage refurbishment and security upgrades have already reached $12 million, amid speculation from the public service that the final bill could be closer to $15 million.
"When you talk about scope change, it is important to understand that any scope change that increased the budget was appropriately approved," Ms Halton said.
"This project was delivered ... inside the agreed budget.
"So yes, compared to what was initially approved ... the budget went up, but each time that budget went up via a decision of government."
Mr Turnbull ordered the independent review on January 22, days before he moved into the historic Deakin property with his wife, Lucy Turnbull.
On Monday, Fairfax Media reported concerns that repeated changes to the project during the tenure of former prime minister Tony Abbott had caused the blow-outs.
The audit will address questions about the nature of the 42 variations to the main contract, including what percentage of the costs can be reasonably attributed to latent conditions, design omission or increase in scope for the works.
Other considerations include additional scope of works, a review of the processes by which additional work was approved and "how decisions were made to increase or change the scope where approval resulted in an increase to the head contractor contract".
The government could keep the review's findings secret, potentially limiting the political fallout after Mr Abbott was rolled as prime minister without ever living at The Lodge.
"Once the review is received, the government will consider appropriate next steps," the Finance spokeswoman said.
Earlier, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet did not confirm a report that heritage and environment lawyer David O'Donnell had been engaged to oversee the review process at a capped cost of $20,000.
Finance said the cost of the renovations had increased to $11.61 million, an increase of $2 million in less than two weeks. The updated figure includes professional fees, architect fees and departmental staff costs as of January 31.
The government has continually said there were no cost blow-outs. The project's final approved budget is $11.69 million, excluding GST.
The original $3.2 million project included asbestos removal, replacement of the degraded slate roof and decaying internal wiring, as well as health and safety improvements.
Mr Abbott approved further works on the advice of bureaucrats, including upgraded security systems, refurbished living areas and bathrooms and replacement of rundown Australian Federal Police guard houses.
Mr Abbott's office blocked the release of information on the project, over concerns about privacy or a poor reaction to the information and cost being made public through media reporting. Estimates heard Mr Abbott's government increased funding by more than $3 million.
