The dual Olympic 1500m gold medallist swam in his first competitive meet in Brisbane last weekend since jumping back in the pool six months ago, starting his bid to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics..

It was an encouraging start for Hackett, who won the 400m and placed second in the 100m and 200m freestyle, results that have qualified him for next month's nationals in Sydney.

His 3:55.68 400m time would have seen him reach the final in last year's national titles, adding more credibility to his Olympic claims.

In the lead-up to the 2012 London Olympics, Swimming Australia came under fire for extra financial support offered to comeback trio Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim and Libby Trickett for their training and preparations.

Two new athlete-funding schemes were put in place following the London Olympics - the Georgina Hope Foundation funded by mining magnate Gina Rinehart, and the Australian Sport Commission's Direct Athlete Assistance.

Both of these distribute funding based on times and performances, with different tiers of athletes receiving differing amounts of funding.

Hackett is training in one of Swimming Australia's podium centres in Miami on the Gold Coast, but Anderson said he was not receiving any extra financial support.

"Grant's training in one of our podium centres but he's doing that as Grant Hackett so there's no additional support," he said.

Anderson said any discussion about funding would not occur until after Hackett returned the Australian team.

"If he makes the team then he's back in that mix, and if he is back in the team he needs to produce a time that puts him back into the team," he said.

"Grant has not reached out in terms of any of that, it's just about getting him back in the pool and seeing how he goes."

If Hackett does return to the Dolphins team, he'll have at least one big supporter in breaststroker Christian Sprenger.

At 29, Sprenger is one of the national team's veterans and said he would welcome the return of Hackett to the squad.

"Grant Hackett's an amazing athlete and an amazing person too," he said.

"To have someone like him back on the team brings back some great memories of past athletes like Ian Thorpe and Susie O'Neill.

"I think the whole team will lift again to want to be as professional as he is."

Sprenger said Hackett's performances have been impressive since he embarked on his comeback.

"He's really turned things around the past six months, coming back to the sport and I think with that...he's really put himself mentally and physically back on track,"he said.

"He's a phenomenal person both as an athlete and an ambassador for the sport."