Lawyers for Mr Kenny, the ABC and the Chaser team corresponded on Monday with the view to reaching a settlement after ABC Managing Director Mark Scott issued a formal apology to the formal Liberal Party staffer. The only sticking point may be whether the broadcaster pays Mr Kenny’s legal costs.

"I have come to the view with the director of television that the ABC should not have put the skit to air,” Mr Scott said in a statement. "Having reviewed the issue, in my opinion it falls short of the quality demanded by our audience and normally delivered by our programming."

The segment featured on the Chaser’s series The Hamster Decides last September and attracted around 200 complaints after criticism from conservative commentators and the ABC’s Media Watch program. But the ABC’s complaints department found last October that it did not breach the broadcaster's editorial policies.

Mr Scott said he regretted the apology had taken so long and that the delay was a “mistake”.

"While Mr Kenny is a strong and persistent critic of the ABC, and can expect to be a subject of satire, the depiction of him was very strong in the context of the satirical point attempted,” he said.

"As a consequence, I would like to apologise to Mr Kenny for the ABC having put the skit to air, his depiction in the skit and because it was triggered by his criticism of the ABC.

Some members of the Chaser are understood to be disappointed by Mr Scott’s apology. Chaser team member Julian Morrow responded to the apology by tweeting a photo of Mr Scott having sex with a hamster.

A settlement would end one political headache for the ABC, which is bracing for budget cuts in the May budget.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in March that “defending the indefensible” was not a good way for the ABC to spend taxpayer money.

“Next time the ABC comes to the government looking for more money, this is the kind of thing that we would want to ask them questions about,” he said.

Fairfax Media revealed on Sunday that the government is considering putting an efficiency dividend on the broadcaster.

The national president of the union representing ABC workers said on Monday that an efficiency dividend was likely to lead to "short-sighted cost-cutting".

"The ABC is constantly reviewing its structure and operations to squeeze out every last dollar," Community and Public Sector Union national president Michael Tull said. "There is no fat. Any cuts would lead to job losses - and not just in the ABC but in the wider film and production sector."