No plans to charge for ABC: govt

The Abbott government says it has no plans to charge people to watch ABC content online, despite a review recommending a pay-per-view service.

The government has commissioned an efficiency review of the ABC and SBS, which has reportedly proposed charging for the national broadcaster's iView online catch-up service.

But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has played down the prospect of the recommendation being adopted, saying the review was a "report to government, not a report from the government".

"This is not a policy of the government. This is not something that we've put out there," he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

Asked if he would pay to watch the ABC, Senator Cormann declared himself a regular watcher of the broadcaster.

"That is obviously not something that is on the table right now," he said.