Federal top-up scholarship

Students with a degree of disability of 50% or more are entitled to a top-up on their federal scholarship (Studienbeihilfe). Depending on the type of disability, the following monthly top-up payments are available:

• € 160 extra for blind people or people with severely impaired vision and wheelchair users

• € 420 extra for deaf people or cochlea implant users

People with disabilities also have a longer entitlement period for federal scholarships. For students with a degree of disability of 50% or more, the entitlement period is extended by 2 semesters per degree program phase. In addition, the age limit for federal scholarships was raised from 30 to 35 years for people with disabilities who are starting a degree program (see also www.stipendium.at/english-information/).

Please note: The exact amount of the federal scholarship depends on a set of different criteria. For more information, please see the website of the Austrian Study Grant Authority.

Family allowance

Families with adult children are only entitled to receive a family allowance (Familienbeihilfe) if the children are in the process of completing an education. To be entitled to the family allowance as a student, it is necessary to be enrolled in a degree program. As a general rule, if all the requirements are met, students are eligible to receive the family allowance up until their 24th birthday.

WAG Assistenzgenossenschaft

The organization WAG Assistenzgenossenschaft helps people with disabilities find appropriate personal assistance. Personal assistants provide support to people with disabilities in all areas where they need help. This may for instance include the following activities:

• Accompanying people with disabilities on their way to work (e.g. opening doors on the subway for a wheelchair user)

• Assistance at the workplace (e.g. carrying heavy bags of flour for a baker who uses a wheelchair)

• Assistance in everyday life (shopping, visits to the doctor, household chores, etc.)

• Assistance for students (e.g. accompanying a student with severely impaired vision to the library)

Please click here for further details and contact information (in German).

Click here for a list of support organizations (in German).