Senior figures in the Turnbull Government are seemingly divided over whether to incorporate religious protection laws into the bill to legalise same-sex marriage, or to pass the reform swiftly and then move on a separate religious freedoms bill in 2018.
Parliament will meet again next week for the final sitting fortnight, in which the prime minister has promised to pass the same-sex marriage law - before Christmas.
Immigration minister Peter Dutton and finance minister Mathias Cormann, both considered conservatives, have suggested many religious protection issues could be dealt with in a separate bill next year.
But treasurer Scott Morrison says he wants protections embedded in the Marriage Act.
"I don’t think it should be delayed … we should seek to maximise those protections now," Mr Morrison told News Corporation.
"Whether someone is a member of an organisation that has a traditional view on marriage should be irrelevant to whether they can sit on a board, work as a doctor, work in the public sector,” he said.
