Care allowance for children and young people

You will receive care allowance for your child under the following conditions:

• There is a physical, mental or psychological disability or a sensory impairment lasting at least 6 months. As a result, the child requires ongoing care and assistance.
• Care is required for at least 65 hours per month over an extended period of time.
• You and your child in need of care are living in Austria. In certain cases, it is also possible to receive care allowance in Switzerland or in an EEA country, but this must first be agreed with the pension insurance institution.

Submit an application for care allowance to the pension insurance institution. Parents must apply for care allowance by their 18th birthday. You will then be contacted by the office that pays out the allowance. A specialist in pediatrics and adolescent medicine will then visit you at home, examine your child's state of health and determine the care level.

If you want to apply for care allowance for your child, click on the following Link:

For children and young people up to the age of 15, the care level is determined according to the Child Classification Ordinance. This regulation sets out how much time is typically needed to care for a child at a given age. It provides a consistent standard and legal basis for assessing care needs.

You can find out how your child's care needs are assessed in the Child Classification Ordinance:

The 7 care allowance levels correspond to a fixed monthly amount. Depending on your child's care needs, you will receive the respective amount each month.

You can find more information on the amount of care allowance and how you can appeal against a decision under the following links:

If you care for a severely disabled child and or young person, you may receive a hardship supplement. This means that additional hours are added to the assessed care needs, depending on the child’s age:

• 50 hours until the 7th birthday
• 75 hours until the 15th birthday

From their 15th birthday, people with a severe mental or severe psychological disability or dementia can receive a hardship supplement based on adult criteria. In this case 45 additional hours must be taken into account.

In the following brochure you will find many support services for children with disabilities: