The Morrison government has launched last-minute talks with stakeholders to determine the future of its contentious religious discrimination laws, as advocates call for them to be withdrawn.
The government will seek to overturn amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act, passed against its will, preventing religious schools from expelling transgender students.
Debate on the religious discrimination laws is expected to move to the Senate on Thursday after the bill passed by the lower house in a marathon sitting that ended just before 5am on Thursday.
Five coalition MPs crossed the floor to side with a Labor and crossbench amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act to protect transgender students.
Assistant Attorney-General Amanda Stoker said the coalition was speaking with stakeholders now the package of reforms had been altered.
"We are really intent on honouring commitments we made to multicultural groups and religious groups and LGBTI groups in the consultation process," she told Sky News.
"We're checking in with them, trying to make sure we fully appreciate the implications of that amendment before we have to deal with it in the Senate."
Asked by reporters whether there was a chance nothing would end up passing parliament, she said: "That is, always in a parliamentary process, an option."
Australian Christian Lobby national director of politics Wendy Francis said the bill should be withdrawn due to the changed position.
She told AAP the lobby has been in touch with all government senators.
"The rights of religious schools in this country will be significantly diminished if this passes," she said.
"Taking away protections for Christian schools is a price too high to pay for the passage of the religious discrimination bill."
LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Australia has called for the Senate to approve amendments preventing existing anti-discrimination laws from being overridden.
Superannuation Minister Jane Hume said the government would seek to overturn the amendments passed when debate moves to the Senate.
"The government will inevitably move amendments to try and revert the bill back to the government's position," she told reporters.
"When you deal with competing rights, it's always going to be a contentious issue."
Senator Hume said the government still supported a process by the Australian Law Reform Commission to examine the Sex Discrimination Act issues.
Liberal senator Andrew Bragg is likely to cross the floor to side with Labor on the issue of protecting transgender children.
Labor is set to use the Senate to move amendments that were rejected by the lower house.
Independent senator Rex Patrick indicated the contentious bill would not be voted on in the upper house on Thursday.
"The religious discrimination bill will not be dealt with today. It is the Senate that controls what happens in the Senate, not Scott Morrison," he said on Twitter.
The five MPs who crossed the floor of the House of Representatives on the Sex Discrimination Act amendment included Bridget Archer, Trent Zimmerman, Fiona Martin, Dave Sharma and Katie Allen.
Mr Zimmerman said his decision to vote against the government was a matter of conscience.
"(Supporting the amendments) would be a bad signal to send to the transgender community," he told ABC Radio.
"It's hard to cross the floor and people feel passionately about these issues."
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said Labor would wait to see how the government pursues the bill in the Senate when debate resumes.
"Their actions after the major amendment was carried were quite extraordinary," he told the Nine Network.
"It isn't too often that governments lose votes on the floor of the House of Representatives, but I've never seen before a government lose votes against a bill they introduced themselves."
© AAP 2022