Birch, who coordinated the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, as well as at the 1992 and 2000 Olympics in Barcelona and Sydney, described the hiring policies of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) "crazy" and "second tier" when speaking to The Australian.

It came after the newspaper revealed that six of the seven staff GOLDOC had recruited as top press operational officers were from overseas.

The department is headed by Britain’s Mandy Keegan, whose Greek partner Lila Sotiriou is photo ­operations manager.

Venue press operations manager is Keegan’s former British colleague Anna Greenway, whose partner Rob Davison of Canada is GOLDOC manager for results technology services.

Britain’s Hayley Roach, another former colleague of Keegan, is the press services manager, while Italy’s Alessandro de Franzoni is the press centre manager and Britain’s Tim Barnett is in charge of the Games news service.

Angela Barac is the only Australian hired to date, taking up the most junior role of press operation officer.

Despite the press operations team being accused of "bypassing a number of highly-qualified Australians in favour of Keegan’s international friends", Beattie insists GOLDOC "are intent on recruiting the very best and the most skilled employees to deliver a great Games in 2018".

"We will not compromise on our determination to ensure roles are filled with people who possess impeccable qualifications and recent experiences applicable to the position," he said in a statement.

"The team will include an international component - this is a major, global event.

"The fact that the press operations senior management team comprises several internationals is indicative of the experience and expertise these individuals bring to our organisation.

"They will support the development of a robust press operations function that will ultimately service up to 3,000 media from 71 Commonwealth nations and territories.

"To stage an international event, it is essential this team is the best to deliver on our expectations and to also ensure a great legacy is left in terms of training and skills development with the greater press operations team of 130 predominantly Australian staff, 20 interns and 800 volunteers.

"GOLDOC is committed to developing a diverse workforce and applying the principles of fairness and transparency to all selection and recruitment processes."

Olympics creative director Birch was among three Australian bid groups who were overlooked for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies duties in December.

The decision to appoint American company Jack Morton Worldwide (JMW), following a tender process, prompted the trio of losing bidders to write a scathing letter to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczu to contest the appointment.

Led by Birch, the group, which also includes unsuccessful bidders David Atkins and Julie Brooks, called for a review of the process.

Atkins, chief executive of Australian-based David Atkins Enterprises, complained about the role of former JMW employees Mik Auckland and Celia Smith in the process.

Auckland, who had been appointed Gold Coast 2018 Ceremonies manager having worked as head of Ceremonies delivery at Glasgow 2014, was employed by JMW for nine years and his partner Celia was with them up until 2014.

The couple then went on to form their own company called Red Thread Solutions.

Their involvement in the process forced Gold Coast 2018 to deny any accusations of a conflict of interest after it was revealed the couple offered technical advice to the Bid Evaluation Committee.

In July, a report from the Queensland Auditor General cleared officials of any wrongdoing when they awarded the contract for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. 

Describing GOLDOC, Birch told The Australian: "They’re an outlier. 

"What on earth could have motivated GOLDOC to turn their back on arguably the best qualified and best reviewed producers in myself, David Atkins and Julie Brooks?

"It was very hard to find any justification for Gold Coast’s decision, however they never explained it."

Shadow Commonwealth Games Minister John-Paul Langbroek, added: "It seems once again there are question marks about the processes by which either the Opening or Closing Ceremonies were awarded, and now there are similar question marks about some of the appointment processes.

"It can’t just be batted away by saying it’s 'sour grapes' by people who miss out."