Bruce Davidson told the Independent Inquiry into Media and Media Regulation in Sydney on Thursday that AAP, which he described as the "Switzerland of the news game", should not be compromised by statutory regulations.
Mr Davidson said as the national news agency was a wholesaler of news, AAP provided all Australian media with balanced, accurate, fair and independent news coverage.
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"In order to maintain this independent and unfettered news and information service and to safeguard our press freedoms ... it is vital the health and activities of AAP are in no way compromised by unnecessary, costly and efficiency-sapping statutory regulation," he said.
"AAP believes Australia and its media has been and will continue to be well served by the current checks and balances that provide that responsible governance of media actions," he said.
The media was already well regulated by an efficient three-tier system, Mr Davidson told the inquiry.
This included employer codes of conduct, the complaints process through the Australian Press Council, legal avenues and the "ultimate judgment" of the public.
AAP would also have concerns about any level of government funding for the Press Council, Mr Davidson said.
Earlier, News Ltd chief executive John Hartigan told the inquiry his company doesn't hack phones or pay bribes.
Mr Hartigan attacked the presumptions on which he said the Independent Inquiry into Media and Media Regulation was based, saying they were all wrong.
"The first being that News Ltd is guilty of the same kind of misbehaviour uncovered by the UK telephone hacking scandal," he said.
"The second is that News Ltd newspapers are waging a campaign of bias against the government.
"The third is that the Australian Press Council is a toothless tiger.
"All three are demonstrably false."
Mr Hartigan said he had carried out a comprehensive review of editorial expenses.
"I can tell you now what I said then - we do not hack phones and we do not pay bribes," he said.
When it came to accusations of bias, the federal government was "on the nose and with the public and looking for someone to blame", he said.
Mr Hartigan, who is due to retire in early December, said critics had turned a blind eye to the important work the organisation's journalists had played in uncovering important issues.
"After 41 years with the company I work for, I say with absolute conviction the standard of work of our 2700 journalists has never been higher."
The inquiry is continuing.
