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

There are direct links below to the relevant body in each case. 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 claim any entitlements, you will need a determination of the degree of disability. 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. A condition for obtaining increased family allowance is a 50% degree of disability or the possible circumstance of permanent inability to self-support.

As soon as you are over 18, there is an entitlement to family allowance if you are training for a job (apprenticeship, school, studying, specialist high school etc) or you are in further education. If, as a student, you have a degree of disability of at least 50 per cent, family allowance and increased family allowance can be claimed until you reach your 25th birthday.

The increased family allowance is also relevant to any claim of carer’s allowance.
Increased family allowance should be applied for at the tax office for where you live.

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
  • Usually residence is in Austria, where grant of carer’s allowance in the EEA area and Switzerland is also possible under certain conditions.

The level of the carer’s allowance is defined in seven stages, depending on the degree of severity of the disability and irrespective of the cause of the care need.

Find out more about carer’s allowance

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 ID if you have a degree of disability or reduction in ability to work of at least 50 per cent and you are resident or usually reside in Austria.

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

Find out more

Study with a hearing impairment

For many young people with a hearing impairment, there is a question of what they are going to do after school. Will I do an apprenticeship? Will I start in a job immediately after leaving school? Or am I going to decide to study further and start a course at university or a specialist high school?

Many young adults with a hearing impairment are unsure and skeptical about leaving their secure environment of “school”, built up over years and are anxious about having to settle into a new environment. Education up to now has been characterized by small, intimate classes and personal connection to the teachers. If you now choose to study at a university or specialist high school, you will certainly have to get used to a new environment. There are personal contact persons for students with physical limitations in all universities and specialist high schools in Austria.

You can find a collection of all the important information on the subject of “Studying with a Hearing Impairment” here:

Study grant
Basically: If the parents or the student him or herself are not able to meet the costs connected with the course from their own resources due to income limitations, the study grant becomes applicable. The study allowance increases for hearing-impaired students and their entitlement extends per study section by half of the envisaged study time for students who have no hearing or are have a severe loss or who wear a cochlear implant.
Detailed information can be obtained from the relevant grants offices of the states.

Disability Commissioner
Staff in Austrian universities and specialist high schools advise and support students with disabilities and work together with individuals and organization units in all areas of the university to achieve barrier free and equal access to all university provision for these groups of people. Contact the Disability Officer of your university/specialist high school for any questions or clarifications.
Find out more

Uniability
Deaf students and those with severe hearing loss are entitled to a range of support measures like sign language and written interpreters, live subtitling, lecture recordings and the support of tutors.
Auditoriums at many Austrian universities and higher educational establishments are fitted with induction loops or FM systems. Find out from the Disability Officer at your university whether there are FM devices for loan or which lecture theatres are equipped with induction loops.
Find out more

GESTU – Deaf Study
GESTU is a central service point for students with a hearing impairment in Vienna which aims to enable barrier-free access to study.
Find out more

VÖGS – Austrian Association of Deaf Students
The VÖGS is dedicated to the aim of improving student conditions and stands up for equal opportunities.
Find out more

Work with a hearing impairment

Many people at work who have a hearing impairment are not aware that beneficiary disabled persons in work have a range of entitlements to special funding, special protection against termination of employment and – if agreed in the collective agreement, service law or in works agreements – entitlement to additional holiday.

The employer too can receive subsidies for employing a beneficiary disabled person and claim tax benefits; payment of equalization taxes is also waived.

A beneficiary disabled employee can receive the following benefits:

  • Subsidies, for example, wage costs subsidies for extending and securing jobs, mobility assistance, technical work tools or equipment, work place adaptations or supplements for professional training and further training.
  • Special Protection against termination of employment – the employer must seek the agreement of the disability committee before announcing any termination of employment. However, the protection against termination of contract only applies after the employment contract has existed for a certain time.
  • Entitlement to additional holiday – if this is provided for in the collective agreement, service law or works agreement – and entitlement to an income tax free amount or tax benefits
  • Discrimination in employment: The Disability Employment Law prohibits discrimination against employees with disabilities. In spite of this, it repeatedly happens that, for example, employees are not appointed because of their disability despite being adequately qualified. This is not permitted. Employees may not be discriminated against on the grounds of their disability – especially not in the justification of the employment contract, determination of pay, award of social benefits, other employment conditions, in further training actions, in promotions or ending of employment contracts.

All the important information of the subject “Working with a Hearing Impairment“ can be found here!

Advice and support for health problems in the workplace is provided by https://fit2work.at/

The employment assistance organization ABAk supports academics with disabilities and/or chronic disabilities in the transition to professional life. You can find the contact details here!

Tax equalization

You can find all the information about extraordinary burdens for disabled person and what costs are tax deductible here.

Where there are physical and mental disabilities, flat-rate amounts without deductibles reduce the income. A tax payer is considered disabled if the degree of disability is at least 25 per cent. The lump sum amount is independent of the degree of disability. The lump sum does not apply if the carer’s allowance is received all year.

Non-regular expenses for aids (e.g. wheelchair, hearing aids blindness aids etc) are recognized additionally and without reduction as deductible. In the case of a disability, the costs of a treatment (e.g., doctor, hospital and therapy fees, costs of medicines) related to the disability can also be considered additionally to the lump sum payment and without reduction as deductible.

Find out more

Broadcaster fees (GIS)

Also known as GIS fees – beneficiary disabled persons can apply for exemption 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:

ÖBB [Austrian Railways]

You can travel up to 50 per cent cheaper in all of Austria with ÖBB [Austrian Railways]. You do not need a discount card, you save directly on every journey with the ÖBB. To make use of this offer, you need an Austrian disabled ID document with the following details:

  • Details of the degree of disability of a munimum 70 per cent or the entry “The holder of this pass is entitled to the price reduction in accordance with the Federal Disability Law.”

Guide persons or assistance dogs travel free with the appropriate badge.

Find out more

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

People with a migration background are still today using below average medical assistance and missing out primarily on preventative actions. One cause of this is surely that they often do not know what rights and options for examination and treatment they have and what subsidies they are entitled to.

A hearing impairment is consequently an additional language barrier and a great challenge to affected persons as well as the specialist staff.

Here are some contact details for support and exchange of experiences so that you can get the best support in the stage of making the decision to have hearing provision and in the time after it is fitted:

Insurance

The initial adjustment of the audio processor takes place at the clinic about three to four weeks after the cochlear implant fitting. 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 cover 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