Ms Duthie was removed from her position as the ABC's head of television comedy last night, only days after she was named as the person who approved The Chaser sketch.

In a statement issued last night, the ABC's managing director, Mark Scott, said the decision to remove Ms Duthie was made in consultation with the ABC's director of television, Kim Dalton.

"The segment should not have been broadcast," Mr Scott said. "We recognise that it caused unnecessary and unreasonable hurt and offence to our viewers … We have determined this was not a breakdown in our editorial policy processes but rather an error of judgment."

The executive producer of The Chaser, Julian Morrow, told the Herald last night, "20-20 hindsight is far easier than 20-20 foresight. Amanda had, and has, our full support."

The executive head of content creation, Courtney Gibson, takes responsibility for comedy until a replacement is found.

Ms Duthie will remain in charge of arts and entertainment programs.

The ABC's Media Watch program revealed on Monday that Ms Duthie had not referred the sketch to her superior, Ms Gibson.

"In this instance, the head of arts, entertainment and comedy reviewed the segment and did not refer it up," Mr Scott said. "This was an error of judgment."

The segment, "Make a Realistic Wish Foundation", caused widespread outrage when it aired last week, causing the ABC to remove it from replays of The Chaser on ABC 2 and online. The Chaser was pulled for two weeks while a review of editorial processes was carried out.

Ms Duthie has been head of television comedy since late 2007.