ALL Australians, regardless of their sexual orientation, will be protected against discrimination under new laws proposed by the federal government.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Wednesday announced Labor would introduce legislation this week to ensure equality for gay, lesbian, transgender and those of intersex status.
The new sexual orientation protection bill builds on the government's efforts to remove discrimination against same-sex couples and their children.
"This reform to the Sex Discrimination Act is long overdue and much too important to be delayed any further," Mr Dreyfus told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
The coalition has indicated it will support the bill, so there should be no excuse for delay or rejection, he added.
If passed, the changes to the Sex Discrimination Act will mean those in same-sex relationships will be treated no differently to other de-facto couples when it comes to commonwealth entitlements.
Matters of welfare, tax, superannuation, health and aged care, immigration, child support and family law will also be covered by the changes.
Mr Dreyfus also announced he would be sending the government's draft anti-discrimination bill back to his department for further work.
A Senate committee in February concluded nearly 100 recommendations made by organisations into the bill required further examination.
"From my own examination ... I'm not satisfied that the bill in its current form passes the test of striking the right balance," Mr Dreyfus said.
The government was still moving ahead with its plans to roll five existing discrimination statutes into a single piece of legislation but more time was needed.
It was "entirely wrong" to suggest the government was dumping the legislation.
The statutes covering age, disability, race, sex and other forms of discrimination will be consolidated, with the most controversial change relating to the onus of proof.
Mr Dreyfus said it was important that in bringing together all the acts under one roof no important protections were surrendered.
He also accused the coalition of contributing nothing to the anti-discrimination debate except a vow to repeal racial vilification laws.
The opposition was masking themselves as heroes of free speech while irresponsibly attacking laws protecting people from hate speech, he said.
"Anyone who thinks there is no boundary to keep hate speech out of our democracy is leading our nation own a very ugly and misguided path," he said.
There was no context in which someone should be free to deny the existence of the Holocaust or to falsely claim indigenous people had faked their Aboriginality, Mr Dreyfus said.
Greens spokesperson on gender issues Sarah Hanson-Young said the changes to the Sex Discrimination Act would be welcome, but she criticised the government for failing to remove an existing exemption for religious organisations.
"You can't pick and choose when discrimination matters and when it doesn't," she told reporters in Canberra.
"If you believe that people ought to have protection from discrimination, regardless of their sexuality, then that is the protection you should give."
Senator Hanson-Young also criticised the government for not pushing ahead with another anti-discrimination bill and questioned whether there would be time to pass any changes before the September election.
"For the Labor government to say they need more time is simply their wriggle-worm way of getting out of moving ahead with reform that needs to happen, but they need the conviction to deliver," she said.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex group All Out called the move a historic step forward.
Australian campaign manager for All Out, Hayley Conway, said the amendments would provide protection for the first time in Australia.
"It is worthy of bipartisan support," Ms Conway said in a statement.
But the Human Rights Law Centre said the government's decision to delay bringing the laws together was disappointing given they had been the focus of significant discussion for many years.
"The political reality is the choice to delay these reforms means effectively abandoning their introduction before the election," executive director Hugh de Kretser said in a statement.
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