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Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has left the door open to supporting legislation for a plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
Mr Shorten said he was "not convinced" of the merit of the public vote, but would discuss it with his colleagues.
He met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney on Tuesday morning, where he said they had "civil discussions" on a number of issues, including a vote on legalising same-sex marriage.
It follows reports, published by The Guardian, that two Labor senators are urging their colleagues to block legislation for the plebiscite.
Mr Shorten would not be drawn on whether he would vote against the legislation, but told reports that he would be discussing the issue with his colleagues.
"Mr Turnbull clearly pressed his case for the value of the plebiscite," he said.
"I certainly expressed my support for a more direct route of a vote in Parliament.
"But I've undertaken to listen to what Mr Turnbull has said and I will talk to my colleagues."
Mr Shorten described the $160-million plebiscite as the "second-best option", highlighting that Coalition politicians were not bound by the result.
"I'm not convinced," he said.
"What is the case for having a taxpayer-funded opinion poll which won't bind members of the Government?
"Why is it some Australians have to have their relationships undergo a public opinion poll and many others don't?"
Mr Shorten said he and the Prime Minister also discussed the issue of constitutional recognition.
While he could not provide any dates for the potential referendum, he said that it would be held in May "in a perfect world".
"The next practical step is to hear what the Referendum Council comes back with to both Mr Turnbull and I in terms of recommendations," he said.
Mr Turnbull also spoke on the issue yesterday telling media in Canberra that Australian Constitution was "very hard to change".
"Since 1946, the only successful referendums have been ones that were uncontroversial and had little or no opposition," he said.
"So it is very hard.
"The Government is committed to the recognition of our First Australians, Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.
"We have an advisory group, a referendum council, as you know, that is working to conclude on what proposals, precisely what proposals would be put to the people."
Topics: marriage, gays-and-lesbians, bill-shorten, australia