The Austrian Medical Practitioners Act stipulates that the surviving dependant is entitled to an orphan's pension if he/she has not yet reached the age of 27, as long as he/she is in education or vocational training. The more detailed provisions are to be laid down in the Articles of Association. In addition to the legal requirements for the orphan's pension, the statutes of the Welfare Fund of the Lower Austrian Medical Association also stipulate the family allowance.
"But that's not how it works. The Medical Association is allowed to determine details of the payment or set a higher pension in the statutes. What it may not do, however, is reduce the statutory entitlement," explains Ombudsman Achitz: "The statutes are a regulation, and a regulation may not contradict the law, but only specify it."
One example of this is the Vienna Medical Association, which only stipulates the requirements for receiving an orphan's pension as set out in the Medical Act.
Achitz calls on the Medical Association of Lower Austria to adapt its statutes to the legal regulations as quickly as possible: "Normally, regulations are corrected quickly when the Ombudsman's Office points out that they are unlawful." Should this still not happen in this case, the Ombudsman Board has the legal authority to challenge the relevant provision at the Constitutional Court: "We make use of this time and again - quite successfully."
Auf der ORF TVthek können Sie jeweils eine Woche lang die aktuelle Sendung des Bürgeranwalts online sehen