Until the agreement was struck,there was a live prospect Albanese’s cabinet would overrule the Indigenous working group and insert seven words proposed by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus two weeks ago.

Dreyfus’ proposed addition,first revealed in this masthead,was opposed by most Indigenous leaders and set up a potential clash with the Albanese cabinet seeking a pragmatic path forward.

But the new agreement struck this week has averted a dire situation in which the government rejected the wishes of Voice proponents,which could have split the Voice movement and derailed the referendum.

The tweak to the wording,which has not yet been revealed,is designed in part to win over support from conservatives who feared the proposed amendment could open the door to High Court challenges of parliamentary decisions if someone could argue that the Voice body was not properly consulted.

“The wording has changed a fair bit from Garma,” according to one source familiar with the Albanese meeting,who asked not to be named. “The essence of the words is there but it has been tweaked”.

The original wording,revealed ahead of Albanese’s speech at the Garma festival in Arnhem Land in July last year,read:“The parliament shall,subject to this Constitution,have power to make laws with respect to the composition,functions,powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice”.

Dreyfus’ seven word addition to the constitutional amendment – “and the legal effect of its representations” – was aimed at guarding against High Court challenges in the event that the government failed to consider the advice of the Voice,a possibility that has emerged as a key sticking point for some conservatives.

On Tuesday,the prime minister stressed the importance of bipartisanship in a meeting of Labor MPs and highlighted the rate of failure for referendums,underscoring the government’s private concerns about the chance of succeeding. Polling shows a majority of Australians support the Voice,but the level of support has decreased and is not strong enough to guarantee victory.

Albanese told the Labor caucus it was important to “minimise scare campaigns” and cited three pieces of history to colleagues:that only 20 per cent of referendums proposed by Labor governments had succeeded,that no referendum had been approved in several decades,and none had won without bipartisan support.

While the Coalition will support the technical bill on referendum rules,it remains unclear what position the party will formally adopt. Three options are on the table:a free vote;formal support for the no vote;or allowing people to criticise formal support for a no vote.

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