FORMER Gold Coast chief executive Travis Auld says revelations of alleged illicit drug use by Suns players are 'not surprising.'

Auld, who is now the AFL's general manager of club operations, publicly addressed questions about the Suns' crisis for the first time on Thursday. 

"Whilst you'd prefer not to have been through these challenges, they're not surprising in the context of the broader challenges of our community," he told reporters.  

Auld wouldn't say what he specifically knew about code-hopper Karmichael Hunt's alleged connections with illicit drugs.

"It's not for me to go through the detail of what took place when I was there," he said.

"I think what's important is what the club's doing at the moment to deal with it, and to deal with the facts that are in front of them. 

"And sometimes it's difficult under the current policy to share all those facts because we do focus on the welfare of those players and that's the right thing to do."

Auld said the young club had been making progress since revelations made in a statement from Hunt in a Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission investigation. 

"We've been working really closely with the Suns," he said. 

"They're making some good progress, having a lot of conversations, and they'll end up better for having been through these challenges."

Auld was representing the AFL at the launch of jointly funded multicultural round activities with Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

Multicultural round is in round 19 this season, with the Collingwood-Carlton game at the MCG to be surrounded by a multicultural festival in Yarra Park.