Croatia: New speech therapy regulations threaten service availability

Member of Parliament Ivica Baksa has warned the Croatian Parliament that new minimum technical requirements for speech therapy practices could jeopardize the survival of private clinics and the availability of therapy for children.

According to a survey by the Croatian Association of Entrepreneurial Speech Therapists (HALP), 85 percent of surveyed private practices do not meet the new conditions, and over 40 percent indicate they might permanently cease operations. HALP estimates that approximately 7,000 users, mostly children, could be affected by these changes.

The disputed requirements, introduced by the Law on Speech Therapy Activities, include specific standards for room sizes, waiting areas, and separate sanitary facilities for staff and users. While the law came into force in July 2025, private practices have until July 2027 to adapt. Baksa has called for more systematic use of existing options to allow private specialists to work under health insurance coverage to alleviate waiting lists.