Attorney-General George Brandis has said the government will be open to compromising with Labor on the structure of the same-sex marriage plebiscite, if it means getting the vote through Parliament.

His comments come just two days after Malcolm Turnbull also spoke of the need to negotiate on issues, given the make-up of the 45th Parliament, where neither major party holds a majority in the Senate.

Attorney-General George Brandis is embroiled in a matter so esoteric we can't afford the legal advice to explain it here. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

While a spokeswoman for Mr Turnbull clarified after the Prime Minister spoke that there would be no changes to the plebiscite policy, its question or the $15 million in public funding for the yes and no campaigns, Senator Brandis told Sky News on Sunday that "the byword of the 45th Parliament is compromise".

"We have a package which was developed after very, very extensive consultation with people who both favour change in the LGBTI community and people who are opposed to change, particularly among the Christian churches," he said