Fraud on maternity benefits: 43 women receiving assistance from outside Austria
Austrian authorities have uncovered one of the largest fraud cases in the social welfare system, revealing that 43 women were receiving financial benefits designated for maternity leave (Karenzgeld) despite living abroad.
The "Task Force for Combating Social Benefits Fraud" (Task Force Sozialleistungsbetrug – SOLBE) was established in 2018 at the Federal Criminal Police Office to address such phenomena. Its efforts resulted in the detection of 4,865 cases of fraud in 2024 alone, most of which were in the capital Wien, followed by Steiermark and Niederösterreich.
According to the head of the Fraud Prevention Department, Gerald Tatzger, 72% of the suspects in these cases are not Austrian. He explained that one of these cases involved a construction company that employed 44 Romanian women, all on maternity leave, but only one of them actually resided in Austria. They were registered at one address within the country, while 43 of them lived abroad.
The mentioned women were entitled to health cards (E-Cards) on this basis and benefited from alleged medical services in Austria, even though they live in their home countries.
The case is not isolated, but reflects a recurring pattern of fraud. Another fraudulent system related to what is called "Karenzbildung" has been uncovered, where fake course certificates were purchased online for amounts up to a thousand euros, allowing them to receive up to 70% of their previous salaries for a full year, even though the training did not actually exist.
Among the cases are individuals living outside Austria for about 320 days a year, receiving unemployment benefits monthly. The relevant authorities have called for the establishment of a unified database linking various social assistance systems such as basic assistance (Mindestsicherung) and unemployment benefits. Petra Draxl from the Arbeitsmarktservice has also called for a reform of the system, stating that "Austria is too small to accommodate nine different assistance systems." Despite these reforms being included in the government program made up of the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS parties, experts confirm that effectively combating fraud requires much greater efforts.