Chancellor: Lower Social Assistance During Integration Phase, 17 October
Published
Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP) said on Saturday 17 October, after a meeting of the coalition leaders, that there will be lower social assistance during the planned integration phase. "Anyone who has never paid into our system cannot fully benefit from it," he said. He added that people who are able to work have to work. No amounts or other details were announced.
On Sunday 18 October the ÖVP general secretary Markus Gstöttner said the government is on the home stretch to a fundamental reform of social assistance. Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (Neos) also said the coalition is united on the issue. Talks with the federal states are planned for the coming days so that a draft law can be sent for public review as soon as possible. The reform is meant to take effect on 1 January 2027, which would need a vote in the National Council in December.
Many points are still open. The government programme provides for full social benefits only after a waiting period of up to three years during the integration phase. It is not clear whether the rule will apply only to migrants or to all people who can work. In a legal opinion in 2025, the Constitutional Service of the Chancellery said a flat rule tied to protection status is hard to justify. Legal experts say the final rule could end up before the highest courts.
Social assistance is administered by the federal states, which must adapt their own laws, so their agreement matters.
What this means: nothing has changed yet. No draft law has been published, and the current rules apply until parliament passes a new law. The draft in public review will show who is affected and how much would be paid.
Sources: Bundeskanzleramt Österreich, Die Presse
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