Majority of voters reject Coalition’s proposal to allow discriminatory religious statements, poll suggests

A majority of voters oppose a key plank of the Coalition's religious discrimination bill that would allow discriminatory speech and say they want greater protections for LGBTQ+ students and teachers, a new poll suggests.

The YouGov Galaxy poll of 1,030 voters, conducted for lobby group Just Equal, suggests the public doesn't back the bill which some government MPs oppose due to the potential impact on marginalised students.

The poll comes after Citipointe Christian College urged families to sign an enrolment contract that included asking them to agree "homosexual acts" were immoral. That controversy caused Labor and Liberal moderate MPs to warn against waving the bill through federal parliament when it resumes on Tuesday.

The poll suggests 77% of voters oppose the "statements of belief" clause that would mean statements grounded in religious belief do not breach discrimination laws banning speech that humiliated, intimidated, insulted or ridiculed people based on protected attributes.

Some 64% of those polled said it should be against the law for religious schools to expel or refuse to enrol students who were bisexual, gay, lesbian or transgender, including children of same-sex couples; while 62% said the same of dismissing a teacher for their sexuality.

Opposition to allowing harmful speech in the name of religion was higher among Labor voters (81%) as was support for prohibiting schools from discriminating in enrolment (75%).

On Friday, two parliamentary inquiries into the religious discrimination bill are due to report before a short parliamentary sitting in which Labor support would probably be required to pass the proposed legislation.