24-hour care
If you live at home and need support for many hours a day and at night and the hourly care provided by mobile nursing and care services is no longer sufficient, then 24-hour care can help you. It can be provided either for a short period of time, for example two weeks after a hospital stay, or for several years. 24-hour caregivers help with eating and drinking, personal hygiene, dressing and undressing, getting up, walking, sitting down and lying down. They will keep you company, take you for walks and accompany you to errands and doctor's appointments.
Telephone information on 24-hour care:
- Citizens' Service, telephone number +43 1 711 00 - 86 22 86
- from Monday to Friday, 8.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
General information can be found under the following Link:
Note: Although the terms 24h nursing and 24-hour nursing are more commonly used in Austria, the correct term for this service is 24-hour care. Caregivers do not need to have any nursing training. Care services can only be provided by qualified caregivers.
You can find more information on the nursing and care professions at:
Costs for 24-hour care
The cost of 24-hour care depend on whether you employ a caregiver as an employee or as a self-employed caregiver. In the case of employment, taxes and social security contributions must be paid in addition to the agreed salary. If you hire a self-employed caregiver, they are responsible for this themselves.
In addition, 24-hour care may incur travel costs as well as costs for accommodation and meals for the caregiver.
You can find more information under the following Link:
Funding for 24-hour care
For financial support, you can apply for a funding for 24-hour care, starting at care allowance level 3. The amount of the funding for 24-hour care depends on whether the caregiver is self-employed or employed. The funding is independent of the assets of the person in need of care, but their income is taken into account. If income exceeds 2,500 euros net per month, funding can no longer be granted. Benefits such as care allowance, family allowance and other transfer payments are not taken into account.
There are further fundings in some federal states.
What tasks can 24-hour care providers perform?
Personal assistants may take on the following tasks:
- Household-related services: for example, preparing meals, running errands, doing housework, cleaning, running errands and looking after plants and animals
- Assistance with lifestyle: for example, organizing daily routines and helping with everyday tasks
- Accompanying function: for example, providing company, holding conversations, maintaining social contacts and accompanying people to social activities
- unless there are medical reasons not to do so: Assistance with eating and drinking, personal hygiene and relieving oneself, assistance with dressing and undressing, getting up, walking, sitting down, lying down
Information videos for various care situations
Are you a family caregiver and want to prepare yourself or the 24-hour caregiver for these tasks?
On the following page you will find multilingual information videos on how to cope with the activities of daily living together with the person being cared for:
Certain activities can be transferred from the medical or nursing staff to the 24-hour caregiver.
Note: The transfer of activities must be recorded in writing. In addition, the caregiver must keep a record of the activities ordered. The activities may only be carried out at home for the duration of the care and the person being cared for or their legal representative must give their consent.
Personal assistants may additionally
- Individual nursing activities carry outif you have been transferred by a qualified nurse.
- take over individual medical activitiesif they have been transferred by a doctor or a qualified nurse.
These can be the following activities:
- Administering medication and injections
- Apply and change bandages and dressings
- Measuring blood sugar levels
- Simple light and heat applications
You can also find a lot of information on the general conditions at:
The following information sheet provides you with information on what caregivers are allowed to do:
Are you looking for reliable 24-hour care?
The Austrian Quality Certificate for Placement Agencies, ÖQZ for short, aims to improve the situation of people in need of care and their relatives.
Certified placement agencies meet higher quality standards that go beyond the legal requirements.
Under the following Link you will find a list of verified agencies:
Last update: July 25, 2025
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