Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer has declared her support for same sex marriage and predicted that the Coalition's position on the issue will ''evolve in step with society's views''.
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Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Ms O'Dwyer revealed members of her family were currently unable to marry.
''Personally, I am comfortable with the idea of same-sex marriage,'' she said.
''I believe that changing the Marriage Act by extending the definition to include same-sex couples will not lessen the status of families. On the contrary, I think that it will strengthen it by building stronger bonds of commitment between two people regardless of gender and sexual orientation.
''There will be some people in my own family who will be disappointed with my personal position on this subject because they have a sincere view that marriage is an institution between a man and a woman. There will be others in my family though, whose own ability to marry is predicated on such a change.''
Ms O'Dwyer said the Coalition had not yet debated what position it would take to the election on the issue.
''In due course, I expect our policy on this area to evolve in step with society's views,'' she said.
Ms O'Dwyer holds the inner-Melbourne seat of Higgins, one of the electorates most supportive of same sex marriage. But until now she has been publicly opposed to change.
Rodney Croome, the convener of Australian Marriage Equality, which has lobbied Ms O'Dwyer on the issue, welcomed her change of heart.
''She's putting the family values case for marriage equality which will be crucial to convincing her Liberal colleagues to also support reform,'' he said.
Ms O'Dwyer was speaking on a bill introduced by Greens MP Adam Bandt and independent Andrew Wilkie establishing equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.
The federal Parliament last year narrowly voted down a similar private members bill sponsored by Labor MP Stephen Jones.
Britain, New Zealand and France are in the process of legalising same sex marriage, and United States President Barack Obama surprised Americans before last year's presidential election by declaring he had reconsidered his opposition and now supported marriage equality.
In February, a federal Young Liberals conference passed a motion calling on the federal party to allow members and Senators a free vote on the issue.
While Labor MPs had a free vote last year on bills to legalise same sex marriage, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said that to allow a conscience vote would break the Coalition's 2010 election commitment that marriage was only between a man and a woman.
