At the end of 2025, the Austrian Ombudsman Board had criticised the fact that two children with type 1 diabetes had not been granted personal assistance at nursery by the Province of Styria. This was because a disability is a prerequisite for such assistance, whereas type 1 diabetes is classified as an illness. Ombudsperson Bernhard Achitz said at the time: “The notion that type 1 diabetes is a condition that can be influenced is a completely incorrect assessment. The claim that the course of the disease can be ‘influenced’ by visits or treatment is nonsense, as all experts confirm.” The federal legal situation states that children with Type 1 diabetes have a 50 per cent disability. The Regional Administrative Court (Regional Administrative Court) in Styria has since upheld the Austrian Ombudsman Board’s view in both cases: both children are entitled to personal assistance.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that children with disabilities are also entitled to full educational opportunities
Ombudsperson Achitz: “I expect the Province of Styria to fund personal assistance for all persons concerned accordingly. And, of course, the situation should be no different in the other Laender.” Support for persons with disabilities is a matter for the Laender, so the provisions may vary accordingly. Achitz: “However, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which Austria has signed and which naturally also applies to the Laender, does not permit children with a disability or a chronic illness to receive fewer educational opportunities than other children. The Federal Constitutional Act on the Rights of Children (Bundesverfassungsgesetz über die Rechte von Kindern) also stipulates that every child with a disability is entitled to protection and care that takes account of their special needs. Thus, equal treatment of children with and without disabilities must be guaranteed in all areas of daily life.”
Public television channel ORF ‘Bürgeranwalt’ report:https://on.orf.at/video/14339744/buergeranwalt-vom-19092026
