Tony Abbott says not much has changed since Malcolm Turnbull took over and now the numbers suggest he's right.

About 80 per cent of bills introduced by the Turnbull government are based on Abbott government policies and decisions, according to new research conducted by the parliamentary library.

Of the 104 bills introduced by the Coalition since the September 14 leadership change, only 19 have been based on Turnbull government decisions, the research obtained exclusively by Fairfax Media show. And even some of those bills were heavily based on earlier Abbott government bills.