Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeals for unity amid division on religious discrimination bill

Federal Parliament will sit for the first time this year on Tuesday with the government's contentious bill to shield people of faith from discrimination set to take centre stage.

Ahead of the debate, representatives from ANU Queer* Department have warned the bill would "license discrimination" against groups including LGBTQIA+ plus people, women, disabled people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.

The Prime Minister hopes to pass the bill before the federal election, alongside separate amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act which would ban faith-based schools from expelling gay students.

Mr Morrison on Monday appealed for unity, declaring that laws to protect people of faith from discrimination should be something that "unites the parliament, not divide it".

"My hope is, as I've always hoped with this bill, is this is a bill that would bring Australians together around this issue. There's nothing in this bill that seeks to prejudice others," he said.

But Mr Morrison is facing a rocky path as he races to deliver on the promises first made before the 2019 election.

Tasmanian Liberal backbencher Bridget Archer on Monday confirmed that she couldn't support the bill amid concerns about the contentious clause which would override her state's strong anti-discrimination regime.

The Canberra Times in November revealed the Bass MP's fears about the statement of belief clause, which would protect people who make statements aligned with their religious beliefs.

Equality groups fear the provision will open the door to discrimination against groups include LGBTIQ people.

Fellow Liberal backbencher Warren Entsch has also yet to commit to supporting the bill, telling The Canberra Times that his position was a "work in progress".

Mr Entsch said his main concern with the prospect of discrimination against gay and transgender children.

The Leichhardt MP said many people across a range of faiths had also told him that the bill was not necessary.

However, he stressed that he wasn't going to make threats and was open to compromise.

North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman has been an outspoken critic of the bill in the past, but could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Mr Morrison has already had to commit to urgent changes to protect gay students in order to win the support of four other moderate Liberal MPs - Dave Sharma, Katie Allen, Angie Bell and Fiona Martin.

With so much division within government ranks, Mr Morrison might need to rely on Labor's support to pass the bill before Australians head to the polls.

Labor offered conditional support to the bill in a parliamentary inquiry report published on Friday.

However, the opposition hasn't settled on exactly how it would vote because it has yet to see proposed amendments from the government.

Labor caucus met on Monday, but only agreed that it was premature to commit to a final position.

Ahead of this week's debate in the Federal Parliament, ANU Queer* Department and queer student activists on campus held a rally to protest the bill.

"We believe that no one should face discrimination, religious and queer people alike, but the bill licenses discrimination rather than preventing it," Xya Romilio from ANU Queer* Department told The Canberra Times.

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