Occasional fill-in host Hamish Macdonald will take over presenting Q&A permanently when Tony Jones signs off at the end of this year.

The ABC on Thursday announced Macdonald had joined the broadcaster as a senior presenter across television and radio.

As well as hosting Q&A, Macdonald will be a regular member of the RN Breakfast on-air team and will report for the international current affairs program, Foreign Correspondent.

"I'm so passionate about telling the big stories of our time through Australian eyes, for an Australian audience," Macdonald said.

"This role will be a huge opportunity to make the most complicated issues accessible, engaging and exciting for all Australians, no matter where you live, no matter what you believe.

"I'm proud to join this great Australian institution and can't wait to serve the audience by continuing the big and important conversations each week."

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The award-winning journalist is currently a host on Network Ten's The Project and has extensive experience reporting internationally.

He's been a regular fill-in on RN's Breakfast program and Q&A, most recently presenting a special program on the drought.

Director, News Gaven Morris said Macdonald was one of the brightest talents in Australian journalism.

"Hosting Q&A requires a special set of skills," he said.

"It needs someone who is articulate and also a great listener, well connected, interested in everything and fully across news and current events at home and abroad.

"Hamish can do all of that — and also brings his own brand of warmth and energy that audiences love.

"He is a terrific communicator, and an experienced and accomplished broadcaster."

ABC Head of Investigative and In-Depth Journalism John Lyons said: "Hamish's energy and ability to draw from people their real concerns will further strengthen Q&A as a forum for reflecting the views of Australians and seeking ideas for the future."

Tony Jones has hosted Q&A since it began. ( ABC News )

Tony Jones is leaving Q&A after 12 years with the show.

His wife, fellow ABC journalist Sarah Ferguson, has been appointed head of the ABC News China bureau.

Q&A's creator and founding executive producer Peter McEvoy is also stepping down at the end of the year.

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Former EP of Insiders and News Breakfast, Erin Vincent, has been appointed to lead the evolution of the program in 2020.

"There is no other program in Australia quite like Q&A," Vincent said.

"The ABC and Australian audiences are indebted to Peter McEvoy for bringing the concept to life more than a decade ago, and I look forward to leading the talented team behind it.

"The audience is the heart of this show and I can't wait to find new ways for people to participate in the debate and engage with public figures on the social issues they care about."

Macdonald comes from Jindabyne in country NSW.

He began his media career covering politics in Canberra with regional broadcaster WIN before embarking on an international broadcasting career, first with UK's Channel 4 News, then Al Jazeera English, before joining US ABC as International Affairs Correspondent.

He has won a Walkley award for current affairs journalism and was named Young Journalist of the Year by Britain's Royal Television Society in 2008.

In 2016, he was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University.

Macdonald has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine, the nuclear disaster in Japan, uprisings in Hong Kong and Egypt, the London bombings and the rise of ISIS.