“The opposition tabled a proposed amendment to the bill in February. The government indicated this week that it would not accept the amendment,” Mr Rees said.

“The bill, at the time of writing, is now paused. Both the government and the opposition are blaming each other for the delay.”

Mr Rees said the FSU had written to the Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Finance, shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for financial services, urging them to take all necessary steps to pass the bill.

“It is simply not good enough that your livelihoods and those of your staff are political footballs in the current climate,” he said.

“Australians are looking for political parties to work together to solve issues, not engage in finger pointing. We will continue to press the government and opposition for a resolution on this matter.”

Mr Rees said he would advise members further as discussions continued, and advised FSU members to express their views directly to government Senate leader Mathias Cormann and shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones.