Qantas boss Alan Joyce has cautioned the Morrison government against allowing divisive and inflammatory acts under new religious freedom laws, warning vulnerable Australians could be harmed by legal protections for comments such as Israel Folau’s social media posts.

The Coalition moved to allow the landmark bill to be considered by a committee of members from both house of Parliament on Friday, a concession designed to avoid another messy breakout among government MPs in next week’s final sittings of the year.