Australians may have to wait until February to officially make their opinions on same-sex marriage known, a report has said, as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says no decision has been made.
Australians will reportedly be asked to vote in February on whether they want to allow same-sex marriage.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to announce the plebiscite timeline at a coalition partyroom meeting on September 13, the second week the new federal parliament sits, News Corp Australia reports on Sunday.
Australians would be asked the simple question: do you approve of a law to permit people of the same sex to marry?
Mr Turnbull and senior ministers have repeatedly previously said they hoped to hold the vote by the end of 2016.
But, today the PM released a statement, saying no decision had been made.
"The mechanics of the plebiscite, including the specific question and also the timing, are subject to the usual Cabinet processes," the statement to the ABC said.
"No decisions have as yet been made."
But the Australian Electoral Commission gave advice to the government late last week that strongly recommended against holding a plebiscite this calendar year, a spokeswoman for the prime minister told AAP.
No final decision about timing or the question had been made yet and would still have to go to cabinet.
The AEC has previously estimated a national plebiscite would cost taxpayers $160 million.
That amount doesn't include funding for publicly arguing the cases for and against.
Labor frontbencher Shayne Neumann said he was not just worried about the waste of taxpayers' money but the harm and injury debate on the plebiscite would cause gay communities around the country.
"Some of the most hateful and disrespectful ... representations I've received in my four terms in parliament have been over this issue," he told ABC TV.
