ABC managing director Mark Scott says commercial television networks are pushing for reduced Australian content requirements, and the national broadcaster is well placed to fill any void, be it children's programming or drama.
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But the free-to-air industry body Free TV Australia says it has not called for lower Australian content requirements, or for the amount of children's content to be cut.
Channel Nine said it did not ''support any reduction in Australian content including children's, and supports the existing quotas''.
A spokesman for Channel Ten said the network had a ''very strong commitment to Australian content'', but ''structural change, viewer fragmentation and a dramatic increase in costs means that it is much harder to monetise Australian content''.
Mr Scott told Fairfax Media: ''I think particularly free-to-air television networks have talked about the burden of Australian content and children's content regulations, and they are arguing that with the success of Australian content on television now there's no need for a regulatory framework about it.
''If, in fact, there was a deregulatory environment and there wasn't the compulsion for the high levels of Australian content, the ABC would be a sure bet to continue to tell Australian stories in the way that we do now,'' he said.
Two Australian shows - Channel Nine's The Block and Channel Seven's My Kitchen Rules - comprised 19 out of the top-20 rating programs in March.
Under current rules, the free-to-air TV networks must broadcast at least 55 per cent Australian content between 6am and midnight.
