The Australian consumer watchdog and the corporate regulator have been asked to investigate “patently false” statements made by Adani in its recent advertising campaign criticising the Queensland government.

The complaints, lodged by the Lock the Gate Alliance, relate to a series of billboard and digital advertisements by Adani, which claim the company is “ready to start work on the Carmichael mine” and criticises the state for “moving the goalposts”.

In a letter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Lock the Gate says Adani’s advertising constitutes “misleading and deceptive conduct”.

Adani said in a lengthy statement on Friday that it stood by its advertising campaign. It said the complaints were “false and unfounded” and aimed at damaging its reputation.

The letter from Lock the Gate alleges that Adani is not ready to start work for several reasons beyond the control of the Queensland government, including because it does not have federal approval for groundwater management plans, and because it has not yet reached a rail access agreement with track operator Aurizon.

“Adani has also said that the ‘Queensland Government is standing in the way’ of their commencement of the mining project. However, it is Adani’s own failures over a long period of time to meet key deadlines and conduct required research that has been the primary cause of delay of the Carmichael coal mine,” the letter from Lock the Gate coordinator Carmel Flint says.

“Over the entire period of their pursuit of this project, Adani’s track record shows that they have caused substantial delays for themselves, waiting six years to apply for groundwater licences that would always have been required.”

The letter lists several examples during the past two years, outlining how Adani has allegedly acted without apparent urgency. These include asking the state government – and being quickly granted – an extra year to pay for a water licence, citing project delays.

“In short, Adani has had long periods of inaction when it has not progressed any part of the project, and then it has demanded fast-tracked approval processes at times when it is pursuing it,” Flint said. “To blame other parties appears patently false.”

A second complaint, to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, asks for an investigation into whether Adani’s statements are in breach of the corporations act.

The advertising campaign has intensified hostilities between Adani and the Queensland government. Senior government figures have, in response, been careful to temper their comments, for fear the company could use them to launch legal action if the Carmichael project does not proceed.

This week, the Adani chief executive, Lucas Dow, said the company had spent an estimated $1.4bn on its plans for Carmichael. If its mining licences were cancelled, it could pursue the authorities for lost opportunity cost, or potential future earnings.

“Lock the Gate’s letters incorrectly claim we have breached sections of Australian consumer law and the corporations act. We have not breached such laws and we would also point out that these two pieces of legislation are not relevant to advertising,” Adani said in its statement on Friday.

“We have not received any advice from the relevant agencies advising that our communication or advertising is under investigation, nor advising it is in breach of legislation or regulation.

“The intent of our communication campaign is to inform the people of Queensland about the true status of our project, cutting through the lies often spread by anti-coal activists, including Lock the Gate.”

Adani said mining could proceed before some of the matters raised by Lock the Gate – including rail access, a state royalties agreement and a legal challenge to the approval for its water scheme – had been resolved.

“We’ve made this clear in the past that these matters can be finalised in parallel to construction and with mining having commenced.”

The company also said it had certainty in “process and timing” from local and federal authorities, but that the Queensland government had refused to commit to timelines to assess outstanding management plans for groundwater and the black-throated finch.

Labor sources have suggested Adani’s advertising might also have breached federal electoral regulations, which require any political advertising to carry an authorisation.

Adani said: “We are not engaged in political advertising.”