How the public funding works
The Pflegegeldergänzungsleistung, usually shortened to PGE, contributes to personal-assistance costs alongside care allowance. Eligibility includes a primarily severe physical disability, at least care-allowance level 3 and an application made in adulthood before reaching 65. Residence, living arrangements and further conditions also apply. The official directory, updated on 6 October 2026, identifies the FSW as responsible for applications, needs assessment, payments and accounting.
Under the FSW guideline effective from January 2022, the award depends on assessed assistance needs, care-related cash benefits and income. Funding covers assistance actually used within the approved annual amount. The guideline allows people to employ assistants themselves, use an accepted provider or combine both arrangements. It leaves the choice of assistants with the person receiving support. [1][2]
WAG: employment and peer support
WAG describes a cooperative model in which it employs personal assistants and handles registration, payroll and contracts. Its stated services include recruitment, organising cover and advice on planning and funding. Peer counselling is part of that offer: people with disabilities advise other people with disabilities. WAG also says it helps applicants describe and calculate their assistance needs and accompanies them through the PGE application and subsequent accounting. The funding decision remains with the FSW. [4][2]
Assistenz24: organising an individual team
Assistenz24 says it supports applications, assistance planning, recruitment and administration. Its Vienna service description includes payroll for assistants engaged on freelance-service contracts (freie Dienstverträge), as well as reporting the use of funding to the authorities. It describes a process in which candidates are proposed according to a person’s preferences; the person chooses whom to meet and whether to continue working together. The provider states that users direct the timing, location and nature of their assistance and can change their team. [5]
The limits of access
The PGE criteria do not cover everyone who needs assistance. WAG describes another route through Teilbetreutes Wohnen, a supported-living service, including for some people with sensory disabilities or learning difficulties and people below care-allowance level 3. It also reports a limited allocation of hours and a waiting list for that route. These access conditions sit alongside the central principle of personal assistance: people directing support around their own lives, with providers handling agreed organisational tasks. [1]