Entitlements & Tips

Entitlements & Tips

Valuable tips on your entitlements & more

With a hearing impairment in Austria, you can claim a lot of support from various institutions. This is a list of your rights, funding entitlements, grants and other tips that could be helpful in your everyday life.

Financial support

Below you will find external links to the relevant authorities. This data is regularly checked to ensure it is up to date. In the event that you should find incorrect details despite this, or you do not have important details, we would be glad to hear about it so that this page can immediately be brought right up to date.

Determination of the degree of disability

in order to be able to claim some entitlements, a determination of your child’s degree of disability is fundamentally required. This is measured according to the type and severity of the functional impairment using the so-called evaluation regulations (EVO).

You can find more information at https://sozialministeriumservice.at/

Increased family allowance

The increased family allowance is additional to family allowance and is payable for as long as the family allowance is granted. Receipt of increased family allowance depends on a 50 per cent degree of disability of the child or, on reaching majority, if the child is permanently incapable of supporting him or herself.

Increased family allowance should be applied for at the tax office where you live.
If care allowance is claimed or paid for the child, you must tell the institution paying the care allowance that increased family allowance is being claimed or paid for the child. Please note that a sum of € 60 of the increase in the family allowance is counted as carer’s allowance.

Find out more

Care allowance

Care allowance can be obtained if the following conditions are met:

  • There is a constant need for care and assistance due to a physical, mental or psychological disability or a sensory disability which is expected to last at least six months
  • There is a constant need for care of at least 65 hours per month
  • Normal residence is in Austria,a lthough care allowance can also be paid in the EEA and Switzerland under certain circumstances

The level of care allowance is – depending on the extent of the care needed and independently of the cause of the care need – defined in seven stages.

You can apply for care allowance at your social insurance:

You can find further information in the brochure:“Information on Care Allowance – Explained Simply”

Disability pass

The disability pass is a public photo ID and serves as a national proof of disability (irrespective of the type of disability). You are entitled to a disability pass if you have a degree of disability or reduction in ability to work of at least 50 per cent and if you are resident or usually reside in Austria.

Applications should be submitted to the Ministry for Social Affairs. Possession of a disabled pass does not give automatic entitlement to any financial benefits. However, (sometimes also in other EU countries) you get discounts by showing the document, for example when you enter various cultural and leisure facilities, events, sights, excursion destinations, ski areas, public transport etc.

Find out more

Tax equalization

As part of the annual employee assessment, a taxable cost for extraordinary expenses due to the disability of a child can be claimed.

Tax-free lump sums:

If NO increased family allowance is claimed for the child, an annual free sum between € 75.00 and € 726.00 is granted, depending on the degree of disability (but at least 25 per cent). This is not a deductible, but no care-related payments may be obtained.

If increased family allowance is received for the child, a monthly free sum of € 262.00 is granted. However, this amount must be reduced by any care-related cash benefits received.

Instead of the allowances, non-regular expenses for aids (e.g. hearing aids, etc.) can be claimed.

Furthermore, in addition to the tax free lump sums, costs for medical treatments can be claimed. These include doctors’ fees, hospital fees, treatment course costs for courses of treatment prescribed by a doctor, therapy costs, costs for medicines in connection with disability and related travel costs (actual costs or official mileage costs).

Find out more

Broadcaster fees (GIS)

Also known as GIS – beneficiary disabled persons can apply to be exempted from broadcaster fees.
Find out more

Green electricity flat rate

Exemption or cover of the green electricity subsidy costs – beneficiary disabled persons can apply for exemption from the green electricity flat rate.

Find out more

Mobile phone tariff

Some mobile network providers offer special, often reduced, rates for hearing impaired people:

Useful Tips

Supporting additional technology

The company ihr zubeHÖR and the HEARING CENTER offer useful additional devices for users of hearing implants, like alarm clock systems, FM systems, streaming devices etc:

Immigration & Diversity

Hearing and speech development in children with implants relies heavily on the active cooperation of the parents.. For families with a migration background, this often means that communication at home is primarily in the mother tongue. This means the child has the opportunity to participate in family life from the start.

Nonetheless, your child will be faced with the national language from nursery age at the latest and so will grow up bilingually. This is an additional challenge for your child with a hearing impairment. This means that for you as parents,it is important to have as much information as possible so that nothing can get in the way of your child’s positive development.

Here you can find contacts for support and opportunities to exchange experiences to give you as a parent the best possible support support in this time, despite possible language barriers:

Insurance

The first fitting of the audio processor takes place at the clinic about three to four weeks after the cochlear implantation. The audio processor is a high-tech device with a monetary value of nearly EUR 10,000.00. Even if Austria’s social insurance accepts repair and service costs arising, this does not apply to loss, theft and misuse.

For this reason, taking out private insurance for the audio processor is recommended. Both the Allianz and the Donau-Versicherung offer suitable insurance cover.

You can find some forms here for both insurance companies: Insurance forms

Not what we experience, but how we perceive
what we experience is what determines our fate.

Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach

Not what we experience but how we perceive what we experience determines our fate.

Marie Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach