Amounting to the expenditure of €7.0 bn in 2019, the benefits paid out of the Family Burdens Equalisation Fund (FLAF) are the most important instruments in support of families in Austria.
Family allowance to the amount of €3.5 bn for 1 754 854 children
was financed by this fund in 2019 according to the Federal Chancellery.
In addition, families with several children are paid a bonus for each
child based on the number of children; however, 51% of families with
children have only one child. By age groups, 41% of children entitled
to family allowance are in the group from 10 to under 19 and one third
of children are 3 to under 10 years of age. A supplementary allowance
was paid 83 585 times for severely disabled children. In
Expenditure on the childcare benefit totalled €1.2 bn in 2018. According to the Federal Chancellery, of the 115 085 beneficiaries of childcare benefit in December 2019, 4% were men. Most of the men do receive childcare benefit shorter than women. Therefore, the share of men in one reference month is rather low. Considering all child care benefits completed at a specific date, the share of fathers involved is 19% and even 31% for the income related childcare benefit (births before 18.02.2017) according a tabulation of the Federal Ministry of Labour, Family and Youth (as at July 2020). In 2019 about 7% of recipients were single parents or low-income families who received an allowance on childcare benefit.
The childcare benefit has been newly regulated as per 1st March 2017. Since then just the individually defined childcare benefit account and the income related childcare benefit exist.
865 fathers made use of the new family time bonus in December 2019.
€2.3 bn was paid out of the FLAF for additional benefits in cash and in kind such as advance on maintenance payment, family counselling, benefits for families in distress, family hospice hardship benefit, commuting grant and free travel for schoolchildren and apprentices as well as the schoolbook campaign and transfers.
Please consult our German website for tables containing further information.