[2] A survey form, instructions, and a reply-paid envelope were mailed out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to every person on the federal electoral roll, asking the question "Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?"

[3] Prior to the survey, the Liberal–National Coalition government pledged to facilitate a private member's bill to legalise same-sex marriage in the Parliament in the event of a "Yes" outcome.

[10] Before the July 2016 federal election, the Malcolm Turnbull-led Coalition government promised to hold a national vote on same-sex marriage in the form of a compulsory attendance plebiscite.

[13][14] The idea of a postal plebiscite was originally proposed by Liberal MP Warren Entsch and later endorsed by government ministers Peter Dutton and Mathias Cormann.

The first was by same-sex marriage advocates Shelley Argent (national spokeswoman of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and Felicity Marlowe (member of Rainbow Families), along with independent MP Andrew Wilkie.

The ABS advised that such an action would likely constitute an offence under the Census and Statistics Act 1905, the Commonwealth Criminal Code and the survey safeguards legislation passed by Parliament.

[71] Unlike elections or referendums, there were no automatic special regulations relating to advertising requirements or prohibited content for the survey of the kind found in the Electoral Act.

[72] Consequently, the Government and Opposition engaged in negotiations to introduce legislation designed to replicate these types of regulations, as well as create measures to prevent vilification, intimidation, or threats to cause harm on the basis of the sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or the religious convictions of someone during the survey period.

[86] The ABS advised Australians who received extra survey forms, addressed to the previous occupant who failed to update their electoral details, to write on the front of the envelope "return to sender" and send it back.

[93] On 28 September, the ABS announced that it would release weekly national estimates of the total number of survey responses received, beginning from 3 October 2017 and ending 7 November.

The primary input to the first three weekly estimates, issued at the National level only, was Australia Post's assessment of the number of containers of sorted envelopes rather than counts of individual forms.

[177][178] The move to offer official support was criticised by the Liberal Party opposition in the ACT, and similar criticisms lead to the City of Darebin backing down on plans to restrict "No" campaigners from using council facilities.

[181][182][183] Likewise several leaders in the Catholic Church raised freedom of religion concerns, citing the case of a Tasmanian archbishop, who was requested to appear at an anti-discrimination commission after having disseminated material supporting a Christian view of marriage.

[190] The prospect of additional religious freedom exemptions being added to existing Australian anti-discrimination law troubled some "Yes" advocates, who feared such provisions could allow service providers to discriminate on any basis, not just limited to couples' sex.

Tiernan Brady described the campaign for religious freedom exemptions as "a blatant attempt to unravel existing anti-discrimination laws which serve everyone in Australia well, not just LGBTI people".

[191] In response to a Newspoll question on the subject; "Do you think parliament should provide guarantees in law for freedom of conscience, belief and religion if it legislates for same-sex marriage?

[208] Legislation in effect for the duration of the survey made it illegal to vilify, intimidate, threaten or harm "on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status or religion", with a fine of up to $12,600 for breaches.

[217] Several prominent conservative politicians voiced strong opposition to the scheduled performance of "Same Love", given its high-profile support for the "Yes" campaign during the voting period of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.

[224] Likewise, a review published late in the survey period by the Medical Journal of Australia agreed with The Conversation's findings, but noted that the effects of being exposed to stigma and discrimination could lead to poorer public health outcomes for the children in same-sex parented families.

[230][231][232] Other groups, such as Slater and Gordon, the Australian Psychological Society and Minus 18 unveiled material and mechanisms designed to offer support and relief for those affected by the debate, such as parents of young children and LGBTIQ teenagers who experienced difficulties dealing with the public discussion.

[250] The heavy concentration of negative responses in working-class, multicultural Western Sydney led to speculation about the underlying economic and demographic factors leading to the result.

Labor Senator Sam Dastyari acknowledged this issue, noting there was a "huge disconnect" of views on same-sex marriage within traditionally Labor-held seats in Western Sydney.

[271] Speaking immediately after the survey results were released, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the outcome "overwhelming" and recommitted to passing same-sex marriage legislation in the Parliament before Christmas.

[272] Opposition Leader Bill Shorten shared that commitment and called on conservative MPs in the government to respect the will of the people and not attempt any delaying tactics in the parliament.

[275] A large crowd also descended on Prince Alfred Park in Sydney for the announcement, which included high-profile figures Magda Szubanski and Ian Thorpe in attendance.

[283] In celebration of the "Yes" vote, a Sydney-based visual artist painted a large, "light-hearted mural"[284] on the wall of the Botany View Hotel, Newtown, depicting Tony Abbott with his hand down the pants of Cardinal George Pell.

[288] Reflecting on the heavily concentrated "No" vote prominent in Western Sydney electorates, Keysar Trad, former president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, labelled it "heartening" and praised the role of faith leaders in both the Muslim and Christian communities in the region.

[295] Greens leader Richard Di Natale wrote to the Prime Minister requesting that some of the unused funds be redirected to mental health and other support services for LGBT Australians hurt by the campaign.

[296] A 2019 University of Sydney study found that the same-sex marriage debate led to elevated psychological distress for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people during the survey period, including increased levels of depression, anxiety and stress.

[298] Another 2019 study conducted for the Australia Institute similarly found that "the marriage equality debate represented an acute external minority stress event that had measurable negative impacts on mental health of LGBTIQ people and their allies".