Vorarlberg groups condemn planned social assistance cuts

Vorarlberg social organisations have criticised planned cuts under a new, nationally standardised social assistance system, ORF reported. The federal government agreed on the long-planned reform on Thursday, with new rates for children and reductions for people judged not to be making sufficient efforts to find work or integrate.

Applicants will receive a basic rate of 1,230 euros. The amount can be reduced if they do not make enough effort to find a job. Recognised refugees who fail to pursue employment or other integration measures, such as learning German, could receive only 861 euros.

Caritas Vorarlberg director Walter Schmolly said that amount was not enough to live on in the state. He said people should be encouraged to integrate and support themselves through work, but that 860 euros was simply insufficient in Vorarlberg.

Families with several children also face lower payments per child. The rate is 307 euros for one child, falling to 147 euros per child for families with five or more children. Roland Jäger of the Institute for Social Services (ifs) said a child’s costs did not fall simply because they had siblings. He estimated that children aged zero to five cost parents about 360 euros a month, rising to 460 euros for those aged six to nine.

Jäger urged the state of Vorarlberg to use the flexibility available under the reform to provide additional funding. Otherwise, he warned, the new system could contribute to child poverty. Vivien Fritsche of the Vorarlberg Poverty Conference likewise said children were not worth less because they had more siblings. She said measures to tackle poverty should consider how people with little money manage daily life, rather than putting them under further pressure.

Fritsche said 2,430 children and young people in Vorarlberg received social assistance in 2025, representing more than a third of all recipients. The Poverty Conference also criticised plans to reduce basic support for people able to work, with payments increased only after they demonstrate efforts to find employment or integrate. “Social assistance is not a tool for punishment, but the last social safety net,” it said.

Vorarlberg Governor Markus Wallner, who currently chairs the Conference of State Governors, said the reform met key demands from the states, including tiered child rates, a mandatory integration phase and sanctions for refusing to integrate. He said the rules should distinguish between families earning their income through work and those relying solely on benefits, and that full social assistance should not be available from the first day. Those who refuse to integrate should face significant consequences, he said.

NEOS Vorarlberg called the agreement an important step towards a fair social system. The party’s member of the National Council, Johannes Gasser, said social assistance should support people in need while helping them regain independence. He said the reform should serve as a safety net for people who genuinely cannot manage on their own.

The draft was presented on Thursday by the federal coalition parties, the ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS. It sets out stricter rules for people able to work.