Austria coalition continues social assistance reform negotiations

The Austrian governing coalition is continuing negotiations regarding the proposed ‘Sozialhilfe NEU’ reform, which aims to redesign nationwide social assistance standards. Following initial political-level discussions, officials described the meetings as ‘constructive’ and agreed to hold further negotiations within the week.

The reform, introduced by Social Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) in early September, faces several unresolved sticking points. Key issues include the specific amount of social assistance provided per child and the controversial ‘degressive rates’—a system that would determine whether payments for subsequent children (such as a third or fourth child) are lower than for the first.

Participants in the discussions reportedly included Minister Schumann, social spokespersons from the ÖVP and NEOS, and representatives from Minister Claudia Bauer’s (ÖVP) integration department. While federal states are responsible for implementing the reform, representatives from these regions were not included in these specific talks. To meet the target implementation date of January 1, 2027, an agreement must be reached by December to allow for sufficient parliamentary processing.