The ABC will suspend its television show Foreign Correspondent and has put a travel ban on its overseas correspondents in light of the coronavirus pandemic, ABC chair Ita Buttrose says.

"Some shows will need to be suspended for now, like Foreign Correspondent ... we've told our international people they can't fly anywhere in the interests of their health and welfare," Ms Buttrose told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

ABC chairman Ita Buttrose, walking the catwalk last week at Melbourne's fashion festival for a charity raising funds for Dementia Australia.

Audiences for live shows such as Q&A and Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell have been banned, news presenting shifts have been staggered and some presenters are working from home, in an effort to keep staff well, she said.

"We are operating in emergency conditions," Ms Buttrose said.