The Centre for Independent Studies has also urged the Abbott government to sell or scrap two of its broadcasters, SBS and ABC3.

The report, Emergency Budget Repair Kit, outlines nine measures that it says will save taxpayers about $20 billion a year

They include scrapping those parts of the family tax benefit that advantage "middle-class" recipients and ending "corporate welfare" such as import tariffs, research subsidies and financial aid for industries such as car-making.

The centre recommends a freeze on indexing pensions and other government benefits, and increasing them in line with inflation rather than more generous indexes.

The report also targets a range of medical "rorts". It suggests removing doctors' access to Medicare payments for management plans, making patients pay at least $5 to see a GP and scrapping rebates for mental health services, arguing they are used mostly by the well-off.

It urges the government to abolish most parts of the federal departments of agriculture and education, and hand over their roles to the states and territories.

"Regardless of whether one believes there is a short-term budget emergency, there is no doubt Australia must prepare now for the grim fiscal challenge we will face in the years ahead, particularly from an ageing population and rising healthcare costs," the report says.

"And the best way to ensure current budget stability and future prosperity is by cutting wasteful and ineffective government spending."

The centre argues there is no longer a need for the government to fund multilingual broadcaster SBS, as migrant communities can produce their own shows cheaply online.

It also says the ABC's children's channels screen an unhealthy amount of TV shows each day despite the government recommending limits on young people's viewing time.

The Abbott government appointed a commission of audit last month to advise it on how to reduce public spending.

However, the Coalition has said it is unlikely to implement significant changes in policy without first taking them to an election.

The report's lead author and editor, Simon Cowan, acknowledged the political difficulties in tackling many of the proposals he outlined.

"But I think the government can have a conversation with the public and build the case for these reforms," he said.

"Governments talk about the need to make hard decisions all the time but then they don't actually make them.

"This government has said that there is a budget emergency, so it must take some serious actions now if it's going to address that emergency."