Rate the PM and his ministers: conduct your own performance review

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is reviewing the performance of his frontbench but has backed their first year in government, saying his ministers will be getting either As or A pluses.

Speaking in the Northern Territory on Wednesday, Mr Abbott said it was "perfectly normal" to examine the performance of senior MPs, and 12 months after forming government was an appropriate time to do it.

The comments came after media reports on Wednesday that Mr Abbott was holding one-on-one meetings with ministers to identify poor performers after a difficult post-budget period for the government.