The proposal would allow two adults, regardless of gender, to sign a cohabitation agreement before a notary.
Such contracts would regulate issues including housing rights, alimony, access to medical information, health insurance, caregiving leave, joint tax filings and certain tax exemptions, officials said.
The measure stops short of legalising same-sex marriage, which remains prohibited under Polish law.
"We are going to parliament with a compromise project for which we believe there is a majority in both chambers," Katarzyna Kotula, the government official responsible for equality policy, told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the bill as "a civilisational minimum that Poland must muster," saying it was designed to secure enough parliamentary support to pass.
"Our aim is to make life easier for people and to ensure that those who choose partnership, and who are someone’s closest person, are treated by the state as all citizens deserve," Tusk said.
He added the proposal would apply to both heterosexual and same-sex couples living in informal relationships.
Tusk said the main uncertainty was whether President Karol Nawrocki would sign the bill into law, a step required for it to take effect. He expressed hope the president would not veto the measure.
Tusk, who returned to power in late 2023, has pledged to roll back policies of the previous right-wing government but has struggled to advance reforms on LGBTQ rights amid resistance from coalition partners and the risk of presidential vetoes.
The government hopes the bill's limited scope will make it acceptable to Nawrocki.
LGBTQ advocacy groups have voiced disappointment that it does not go further but acknowledge it may be the only proposal with a realistic chance of passing parliament.
Predominantly Catholic Poland remains among the EU's most restrictive countries on LGBTQ rights, even as public support for legal recognition of partnerships has grown.
Opinion polls show broad backing for civil partnerships for heterosexual couples and roughly half of Poles in favour of civil partnerships for same-sex couples, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
Tusk said last month that Poland would not be pressured into legalising same-sex marriage following a ruling by the EU's top court requiring member states to recognise such marriages legally concluded elsewhere within the bloc.
"The EU can’t pressure us to do anything," he said.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters, IAR, TVP Info