Funding hurdles limit access to personal assistance in Lower Austria

People with disabilities can struggle to find and pay for personal assistance, ORF reported after a discussion forum in St. Pölten. The forum, held by Licht ins Dunkel, focused on barriers to accessing support for everyday activities and education.

Timon Salzer, who has learning difficulties, relies on a learning assistant to take a Disability and Leadership course at Bertha von Suttner Private University in St. Pölten. The assistant helps him discuss ideas and assignments, which Salzer can then complete himself. All participants in the course receive support, but this is not always available elsewhere.

Christoph Dirnbacher of the WAG Assistenzgenossenschaft Niederösterreich, an assistance cooperative, said the size of Lower Austria can make it difficult to find a suitable assistant who lives nearby.

Funding is another challenge, Dirnbacher said. The provincial subsidy has not been regularly adjusted for inflation and remains too low, he argued. “People with disabilities should not have to pay to go to the toilet or eat.”

Lower Austria’s Social Affairs Department said it raised the subsidy from 22 to 24 euros on January 1, despite tight budgets. It also lowered the eligibility threshold from care level five to care level four.

Dirnbacher welcomed the change but said care levels were “not a good guide”. He uses a wheelchair but is assessed at care level three, meaning he would not qualify for any personal assistance hours in Lower Austria.

He said personal assistance is an important means, under the UN Convention, of enabling people with disabilities to live independently in society. He called for support to be provided and funded according to individual needs.