The fairness of Q&A host Tony Jones will be scrutinised as part of the ABC's far-reaching independent editorial review of the program, which is currently being boycotted by Abbott government ministers.

The ABC released the terms of reference for the review, to be conducted by television veteran Ray Martin and former SBS managing director Shaun Brown, on Thursday. It could recommend major changes to the way the program selects its audience members and panelists, as well as its use of live tweets.

Martin sparked calls from Coalition MPs for him to resign from the review when he said, among other things, that he believes Jones was as tough on the previous Labor government as he was on the Coalition.

The terms of reference state the review will take up to 12 weeks to be complete, and not be released for a "reasonable period" after that. This means the program will be without an Abbott government frontbencher for three months if the boycott holds during the process.