Groves was one of three Australian swimmers issued with breach notices for allegedly missing three unannounced drug tests within a 12-month period. Already, fellow Dolphin Thomas Fraser-Holmes has been hit with a one-year ban, while open-water athlete Jarrod Poort also faces an uncertain future.

Athletes must nominate an hour-long slot for three-month blocks during which they can be available for testing. Fraser-Holmes earned his final strike by being five minutes late after a dinner at his parents' house, which would end up costing him a Commonwealth Games appearance.

The breaches were issued in May and while the case of Fraser-Holmes has been heard, Groves and Poort await a chance to face the allegations. All the while, the clock ticks towards the Commonwealth Games trials in February.

Groves sat out the recent FINA world championships in Budapest but remains one of the key members of the Dolphins team after just missing the top of the podium in the 200 metres butterfly in Rio.

The 22-year-old, who trains under elite coach Michael Bohl at his new base at Griffith University, remains in no-mans land in terms of the Commonwealth Games, with her fate in the hands of a FINA panel and Brisbane sports lawyer Tim Fuller.

Verhaeren said Swimming Australia was largely a spectator during the process and had little to no control of the timing and the outcomes. But he said the scenario would be "extremely difficult" for Groves as she awaits her fate.

"The difficulty for us as well is that we don't have information as to where this case will land. We all hope for the best outcome," Verhaeren said.

"It must be extremely difficult awaiting a case where you don't know the outcome. Hopefully we'll see her here competing at Comm Games because she's very valuable.

"Honestly, I don't know why it takes so long for a case to be solved. I don't know that. I don't know when her case is due. I would if I could."

A number of athletes weren't entirely satisfied with Swimming Australia's handling of Fraser-Holmes, who had to return home from racing in Europe and has now been denied funding, coaching and access to an SA pool.

Verhaeren said there was little they could do once a decision was handed down by FINA to suspend an athlete from competition.

"Federations are basically left out of this. This was also the perception with Tommy Fraser-Holmes. As a federation, you can only give a certain amount of support; no money, no coach, no pool, no program. You're not allowed. You can't move here.

"With Maddie Groves, up until now that thankfully hasn't been the case."

Fuller believes Groves stands a strong chance of escaping a ban. She contends she was at the right place, at the right time, when agents came to test her at a US university.

But she says the testers failed to make all efforts to locate her, stopping at the front desk of a dorm building when she had been waiting in her room.