Do everything possible to prevent the need for adult representation in the first place

The Austrian Ombudsman Board deals with the issue of adult representation at various levels. On the one hand, affected people complain about adult representation. On the other hand, the commissions report on various perceptions in their work in preventive human rights monitoring in institutions for persons with disabilities.

Official review procedure shows lack of action by the provinces

The Austrian Ombudsman Board therefore carried out an official investigation to question the federal provinces about their measures. This revealed that in some cases even legally prescribed measures are not being implemented. For example, there is often a lack of support groups to enable those affected to manage their own affairs as far as possible. This applies to all possible areas of life; in the case of medical treatment, however, such a support group is provided for by law. Adult representation should only be called in if the circle of support does not enable the person to make decisions.

Care home contract only with adult representation

The lack of awareness regarding self-determination is also shown by the fact that many facilities require adult representation for the admission of people with disabilities. "We also hear this time and again from retirement and care homes, even if the people concerned are capable of making decisions at the time. Apparently, some operators want to make things easy for themselves and prefer to only ask the adult representative when it comes to medical treatment, for example - instead of utilising all the possibilities of assisted communication to act in accordance with the wishes of the person concerned."

In order to show that human rights for people with disabilities are taken seriously in Austria, corresponding developments must be initiated as quickly as possible. "This is also required by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Austria has committed to implementing. And this obligation naturally also applies to the federal states," says Achitz.