Brophy chief executive officer Francis Broekman said in a statement to all staff that the support service had publicly registered its support as a not-for-profit with the Australian Marriage Equality organisation.

“In doing so the board and executive team express Brophy’s support for marriage equality,” he said.

“This aligns strongly with our agency values and mission and with the rights-based approach to service delivery by our organisation.

“We recognise the right of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) employees, volunteers, clients and customers to live and work free of prejudice and discrimination.

“This includes the right to marry the partner of their choice.

“Not only is marriage equality the only right thing to do, it also helps improve workplaces and service delivery by allowing everyone to be treated with equal respect, equal rights and feelings of inclusion.”

Mr Broekman said since the federal government announced the marriage equality survey, Brophy staff had been providing personal support and advocacy to clients, staff and families to manage the impact from the public debate.

Mr Broekman’s statement to staff comes after Brophy opened a marriage equality hub at Kulcha Shift on Timor Street.

The need for the hub was identified by a push from the community wanting to show their support for LGBTIQ+ people and their right for marriage equality.

People can find posters, flyers and other material in the lead up to the postal survey and also information and ideas about talking to others about marriage equality. The hub will operate from 9am to 5pm until the results of the survey are announced.

On Thursday the Australian Bureau of Statistics warned people not to post pictures online that revealed the unique barcode on their same-sex marriage survey forms amid concerns it could jeopardise individual results. 

Australia Post will send out 600,000 survey forms per day in the coming weeks to reach the more than 16 million people on the electoral roll.

Anyone needing support should phone Qlife on 1800 184 527 or visit www.switchboard.org.au