Adding further to the confusion surrounding the state of play, the minister's office confirmed on Tuesday that Mr Downes was actually expected to hand his report to ASADA's chief executive and not the minister.
However, ASADA's chief executive Aurora Andruska is due to finish up at the end of next week. There has been no announcement of a replacement or even an interim chief.
"Announcements will be made at the appropriate time," a spokesman for the minister told AFL.com.au.
ASADA did not respond to AFL.com.au's inquiries on Tuesday before the time of publishing.
The federal minister, who is responsible for overseeing ASADA, commissioned Mr Downes in February to conduct an examination.
Mr Downes was tasked with reviewing ASADA's processes and helping to bring its investigation into matters relating to the AFL and NRL to a conclusion.
In his statement on February 3, Minister Dutton declared 'the Downes report' should be completed "as soon as possible, but no later than the end of April 2014."
"The review process will assist ASADA in finalising its investigations, but does not in itself guarantee finalisation on a fixed date," he said.
But with the end of the month just one day away the minister's office would not confirm that the report would not be made public.
The minister's spokesman said: "The report will be subject to legal privilege and will remain confidential,"
It's been more than 14 months since Essendon self-reported and the so-called 'blackest day in sport' media conference in Canberra.
As it stands, no AFL players or club officials have been handed infraction notices.
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