An efficiency review of ABC and SBS has kicked off with the federal government putting the blowtorch on the public broadcasters' spending.
Former Foxtel chief executive Peter Tonagh and former Australian Communications and Media Authority acting chairman Richard Bean are heading up the review.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says the review, announced in the May budget, will help the organisations identify best public broadcasting practice.
"In the fast-evolving world of media organisations, it is important to support our public broadcasters to be the best possible stewards of taxpayer dollars in undertaking their important work for the community," he said in a statement.
Labor MP Michelle Rowland said the review demonstrates hypocrisy in how the government manages taxpayer funding.
"They gifted $30 million of taxpayers' funds to Fox Sports and $444 million of taxpayer funds to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation behind closed doors, with no strings attached," she said in a statement.
"The review is either a sham, an exercise in meddling or a hunt to identify even deeper cuts."
