The Federal Opposition has criticised the Government's planned efficiency review of the ABC and SBS as politically motivated, with Labor frontbencher Penny Wong saying the Coalition wants to avoid scrutiny.

The Government has described the review, announced last week, as "a routine responsibility... to ensure that the ABC and SBS use public resources as efficiently as possible", and says it will not affect broadcast charters or editorial and programming decisions.

"The objective is to ensure ABC and SBS fulfil their charter responsibilities at least cost to the community, and keep pace with rapidly changing practices in the broadcasting sector," it said in a statement.

However Senator Wong, appearing on Sky News this morning, questioned the motivation behind the review.

"I think the agenda for the review is to seek to find a reason to reduce funding to the ABC, because the Government doesn't like what the ABC does and says," she said.

"You only have to look at what Eric Abetz has said, what other senior members of the Coalition have said, what the PM has said.

"This is about a Government that doesn't like scrutiny."

Labor has also questioned the timing of the review, which was announced after Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the ABC unpatriotic for its coverage of the Edward Snowden leaks and asylum seeker abuse claims.

"This is not about finding efficiencies, it's about cutting the ABC's budget," Opposition communications spokesman Jason Clare said last week.

"The Prime Minister gets some bad news and suddenly he starts blaming the media."

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull denies a link, saying the review is not in response to growing criticism within the Government of the broadcaster.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 7 minutes 38 seconds 7 m Malcolm Turnbull says ABC and SBS do not have to be nationalistic

"[It's] completely coincidental. I foreshadowed some time ago we'd be looking at the efficiencies of the public broadcasters and this study has been some time in the making," he said.

"We've had a lot of cooperation from the management of ABC and SBS.

"What it is designed to do is to ensure that the ABC is running its business as cost-effectively as possible."

Australia Network's future remains in the balance

The review comes amid reports the Government is considering axing the Australia Network, the overseas TV channel run by the ABC.

The previous Labor government awarded the contract to the ABC over Sky, after a botched tender process.

Mr Abbott has deflected questions about the channel's future in the wake of reports that Cabinet is likely to scrap it in the May budget.

"I think it was a particularly dodgy piece of work by the former government; we're working our way through it and if there's more to say, it'll be said in due course," he said.

Senator Wong says she would be against the abolition of the Australia Network.