Former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello is set to make a return to federal parliament and appear before a Senate hearing in his capacity as Chair of the Future Fund.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters has requested Mr Costello appear to explain a column he recently wrote for News Corp on which he criticised the ANU's decision to divest its shareholdings belonging to resources companies.

Mr Costello attacked the decision as "moral absolutism" resulting from a Greens campaign which he said failed to acknowledge the contribution resources make to the Australian economy.

He urged the ANU to clarify its decision.

"My suspicion is that ANU does not want to have the decision scrutinised and answered by the companies involved. The findings may turn out to be a little less scientific than they would like people to believe," Mr Costello wrote.

Senator Waters says while Mr Costello did not write the column in his official capacity his argument is "clearly relevant" to his role as Future Fund chair.

Fairfax Media understands Mr Costello is "delighted to attend" although no official confirmation of his appearance is likely until next week.

The government is also understood to have no issue with Mr Costello facing a hearing with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann agreeing for Mr Costello to appear as soon as he learned of the Greens request.

One Liberal predicted the former Treasurer would dominate the hearing as he once did on the floor of parliament.

But Mr Costello is likely to face tough questions about recent leaks suggesting the taxpayer-funded Future Fund has sought to avoid paying its fair share of tax by offshoring its profits in Luxembourg.