As the ABC comes under government scrutiny, staff have been warned not to ''embellish'' or add ''any flourish'' to asylum seekers' claims they have been mistreated by border protection forces.

Head of ABC news content Gaven Morris sent the directive to the organisation's top brass on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after the government announced it would conduct an ''efficiency study'' into the ABC's operations.

Public perceptions on ABC political bias.

In an email obtained by Fairfax Media, Mr Morris instructed senior staff to advise their teams about reporting on ''incidents at sea''. He said staff should ensure that the reports ''stick to the basics''.

''As you know we currently have a set of claims by asylum seekers our editorial teams are continuing to work hard to get an accurate account of and to verify,'' he wrote.