The ABC will get its $83 million funding cut reversed if Labor wins the next election, confirming the national broadcaster as a hot button election issue.
Bill Shorten is promising to guarantee funding certainty to the national broadcaster after the last round of cuts in the federal budget.
"This year alone, this out of touch government has cut $83.7 million in ABC funding, launched two damaging public broadcasting inquiries and has three bills before parliament to meddle with the ABC Charter," the opposition leader said on Monday.
Mr Shorten says Labor will reverse the funding cuts from this year's budget, which came on top of more than $200 million worth of cuts in previous years.
"At a time when too many Australians feel disengaged from their democracy and distrustful of their representatives, Labor wants to restore trust and faith in our institutions," Mr Shorten said.
"Part of restoring trust is supporting a healthy public interest media sector, and protecting that trusted institution - the ABC."
The funding freeze is due to hit from July 2019, but the next election is due before then.
The national broadcaster has been the subject of numerous editorial complaints in recent months over its coverage of the government's tax policies and the date of five by-elections next month.
This month, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield made his sixth complaint about the ABC this year.
But the broadcaster will always have a future, the minister told ABC radio last week.
"The indexation pause represents about $83 million over three years. So the ABC is still extremely well resourced," he said.
"Our absolute guarantee and commitment is that the ABC will always be well-resourced to do its important work."
"We know it will be challenging for us," ABC chief financial officer Louise Higgins told a Senate estimates hearing in May.
Operating costs are rising faster than inflation and Ms Higgins flagged there would be upcoming funding talks with the government.
Thirty years ago the ABC had five platforms and 6000 staff but now it has six times the platforms and 4000 staff, while per capita funding had halved.
In the May federal budget, it was revealed SBS will get $14.6 million funding over two years from 2018-19.
The funding will be over two years for SBS to replace revenue that could not be raised by changes to its advertising regime, and $3 million to support the development of Australian film and television content via the Department of Communications and the Arts.
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