Personal assistance is a form of service that supports people with disabilities in their daily lives, enabling them to lead active and self-determined lives according to their own wishes, ideas, and needs. In 2022, around 2,000 individuals utilized personal assistance in the leisure sector. The number of beneficiaries varies between federal states, ranging from a few dozen recipients in Burgenland to approximately 500 beneficiaries in Tyrol.

The service includes support in all areas of daily life, such as personal care, household tasks, mobility, and communication. With a focus on the leisure sector, personal assistance is subject to state-specific equality laws, participation laws, or social assistance laws, which results in different eligibility requirements for beneficiaries or approved hours of service. Primarily, adults with physical and/or sensory disabilities can access these assistance services. Exceptions include, for example, Vorarlberg, where individuals with learning difficulties are also eligible, or Upper Austria, where children from the age of six can receive personal assistance. Individuals with mental impairments and those with intellectual disabilities without the ability to follow instructions are almost entirely excluded from the service.

To address the differences between states and strengthen personal assistance as a central support measure for people with disabilities, it has been a long-standing demand from individuals with disabilities and their advocacy groups to standardize personal assistance across Austria.

On January 1, 2023, the guideline for granting funding under Section 33 of the Federal Disability Act for the harmonization of personal assistance came into effect. According to the guideline, projects in the federal states aimed at harmonizing personal assistance will be funded in the first step, with the long-term goal of establishing uniform standards for personal assistance throughout Austria. The funding is provided from the Support Fund for People with Disabilities in accordance with Section 33 of the BBG to promote participation projects.

The guideline includes central criteria that provide a uniform definition of personal assistance in general and the eligible recipients in particular. Additionally, the guideline establishes framework conditions such as the procedure for needs assessment, the range of services, the conditions for service provision, and measures for quality assurance that must be implemented for funding.

To ensure a foundation for the further development of personal assistance in general and harmonization in particular, the project will be scientifically accompanied by the NPO Competence Center over a period of nearly two years as part of an evaluation. The developed evaluation design includes a mixed-methods approach, meaning that in addition to the research and analysis of relevant documents and secondary data, guided interviews and online surveys will be conducted.