Thailand could become the first Asian country to legally recognise same-sex couples under a bill that would allow civil partnerships, but campaigners say it fails to address major concerns of LGBT+ people.

Public consultations on the bill were held this week and a revised version will go to the cabinet for approval by the end of the year, said Nareeluc Pairchaiyapoom, a senior official at the government department handling the bill.

It gives same-sex couples the right to register unions, as well as to property and inheritance, but does not recognise marriage between same-sex partners.

"The civil partnership bill is the first step to giving equal rights to everyone," said Nareeluc at the last of the public hearings on Friday.

"The final goal is same-sex marriage, but that requires more time and several actions to amend the civil code and get everyone on board. We will proceed step by step," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Yet LGBT+ people face considerable discrimination and stigma, and the civil partnership bill stops short of granting key rights, said Wannapong Yodmuang, an activist with the Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand, an advocacy group.

"We are not happy. The bill does not give us the right to be a family or to raise a family," she said.

"We recognise that amending laws and bringing new legislation is tough, but LGBT people must have the same rights as heterosexual people; there can be no compromise." Read more via Openly