Transition grant – government is putting together another care package

In addition, national standards for social care professions need to be created and the skills of home care workers need to be expanded. Implementation will take place here via a so-called 15a agreement between the federal government and the states. The reform is also intended to bring more transparency to the billing of 24-hour healthcare workers. Some measures should come into force in the autumn, others in January 2025, said Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) in the press foyer after the Council of Ministers meeting with ÖVP club president August Wöginger. The necessary decisions in the National Council must be taken before the summer.

Search for qualified personnel
The federal government justifies the measures with reference to the increasing number of elderly people in Austria, which also increases the need for care, nursing and qualified personnel. The turquoise green cabinet also referred to the steps that have already been taken in recent years – such as wage subsidies for nurses, the sixth week of vacation for employees aged 43 and older, the training subsidy of 600 euros and the transition nursing benefit of at least 1,500 euros. per month.

In concrete terms, from September 2024, career changers who study health and nursing at a university or technical college will also receive the nursing grant. According to government figures, more than 7,000 people took advantage of the nursing grant last year. The grant is intended for people who are switching from an existing job to healthcare and nursing and therefore have to give up their income during the training.

New fairs
The minimum amount in 2024 will be more than 1,500 euros per month. Previously it could be obtained through training courses for nursing assistants, nursing assistants and social care professions. The diploma scholarships were previously only available at health and nursing schools. After completing this training, interns from technical colleges will also receive this grant in the future. A prerequisite is compliance with the existing AMS training guidelines. An application is therefore possible at the earliest two years after the end of the mandatory training or the Matura.

There should be simplification in the recognition of foreign professional qualifications (nostrification) of qualified healthcare and nursing staff, for which the colleges are responsible. For this purpose, a new competence center is being created, which will be the central point of contact and service – for applicants, employers and also for technical colleges. The competence center also aims to provide support to nursing staff who require additional examinations to have their qualification recognised: funding from the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) for the required courses, examinations or courses will be increased to a maximum of 2,500 euros. euros.

More skills for home helpers
The skills of home helpers need to be expanded: in the future they can, for example, administer eye and ear drops or measure blood pressure. According to the government, the states and the federal government have jointly drawn up a corresponding 15a agreement, and the next step will also be a resolution of the National Council.

There is an expansion of so-called replacement care for caring relatives. In the future, they will receive financial support for this alternative care from day one. For example, caring family members can “take one day off” per week. Previously, financial support was only possible for three consecutive days. Depending on the level of care, the amount is a maximum of 1,200 to 2,500 euros per year. A maximum of four weeks are eligible for financing per calendar year. The circle of recipients will also be expanded to include life partners, foster parents and uncles and aunts.

A new regulation should bring more transparency for independent 24-hour carers. According to the government, the approximately 34,000 informal caregivers are largely placed by agencies, each of which enters into a contract with the cared for and their informal caregiver. In the future, placement agencies will be required to provide a cost overview upon first contact and in their advertising materials.

Mixed reactions
Reactions to the package presented were mixed. The NEOS spoke of ‘known’ announcements, despite the fact that there are still enormous bottlenecks in healthcare. “The ÖVP and the Greens must immediately stop feigning activity before every election and finally implement real healthcare reform instead of just chatting,” said NEOS MP Fiona Fiedler, according to the broadcast. The Freedom Party considers the announcement a “farce” and a “hoax”. “What the government is planning is further academization, which will only prolong the training period and will not bring a single person to the bed where colleagues can finally be relieved,” criticized Christian Ragger, member of the FPÖ National Council.

The trade union federation ÖGB was also critical and spoke of a “political fig leaf in the primary campaign”. According to ÖGB nurse Martina Lackner, the measures are in no way aimed at improving the working conditions of the nursing staff. The Vida union has reacted more positively: “These are the first steps in the right direction, although we expected greater success,” says Gerald Mjka, chairman of the Vida health department. Vida called for improvements to the amount of the bursary grant for nurses and criticized the fact that the nursing, health and social care professions are not recognized as working hard to reach an earlier retirement age.

The aid organizations were satisfied. “Despite the urgency, we welcome the fact that the current federal government has managed to take further steps to improve care and support in Austria during this parliamentary term,” Caritas President Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler said in a press release. They have “adjusted a few adjustment screws” and this needs to be acknowledged. At the same time, she emphasized that even with the healthcare reform measures already taken in recent years, there is still a lot of political mandate for action: ‘Care remains a piecemeal process’, for example there is currently a shortage of 3,000 skilled workers per year.

“This package helps to relieve the pain here and there, but it cannot really cure it,” says Tödtling-Musenbichler. She is already calling on the future federal government to ‘implement an urgently necessary general reform’. Such reform must include “the end of the patchwork”; for example, there should be a “uniform staff key from Lake Constance to Lake Neusiedler”. The aid organization spoke on Wednesday about “correct and important decisions”. The package helps to make entry into the nursing profession easier, to make the profession of home help more attractive and to better support caring family members, says director of the aid organization Elisabeth Anselm.

The project was also well received by the Red Cross. Much of this has been demanded “for years”, said Michael Opriesnig, Secretary General of the Austrian Red Cross, in a press release: “It is important that it is not just announced, but that it is also implemented quickly.”