Austria's €500 child savings scheme and family contributions
Austria's planned child investment account would restrict who can pay into it under the proposed legislation. The draft legislation would allow only the child's legal representative to contribute to the Zukunftsdepot.
Earlier, the government said grandparents, godparents, friends and other relatives could also contribute.
The proposal would allow the planned launch on July 1st, 2027 to be deferred to December 1st, 2027 if technical reasons require more time. The legislation hasn't yet passed, so the final rules are of course still subject to change.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: What we know so far about Austria's €500 child bonus
Austria proposes 314 refugee family reunification places per year
The Austrian Interior Ministry has launched a consultation on a proposed annual quota of 314 people for refugee family reunification in both 2026 and 2027. The proposals apply to family members of recognised refugees, and people granted subsidiary protection, not to all foreign residents applying for family reunification.
Interior Ministry figures show that more than 6,000 people arrived through refugee family reunion between January and September 2024, but that number has drastically dropped with just 60 exceptional hardship cases in the same period in 2026. UNHCR, Amnesty International and several Catholic organisations have criticised the proposed quotas.
Critics defended the right to family life and questioned whether the quotas comply with human rights and EU law.
READ ALSO: The immigration changes that await foreigners in Austria in 2026 and beyond
Ombudsman warns about access to autism therapy in Vienna
According to Austria's Ombudsman Board (Volksanwaltschaft), experts estimate that only around one in five autistic children in Vienna receives appropriate therapeutic support. On Sunday, Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz raised concerns about access to publicly funded specialist care for autistic children.
The Ombudsman Board referred to the case of a 4-year-old whose parents have been unable to secure any publicly funded occupational therapy or speech and language therapy. The VKKJ specialist centre in Favoriten is not currently taking any new patients (apart from where there is space and the family lives in a particular area).
The one-in-five estimate concerns access to appropriate therapeutic support, not specifically places at specialist centres. The Ombudsman has raised the shortage with Vienna's authorities and the public health insurers ÖGK and BVAEB, which disagree over who should take responsibility for providing more therapy places.
READ ALSO: When can I ask for reimbursement for medical expenses in Austria?
Austria sets new seasonal worker quotas for tourism in 2027 and 2028
The Austrian government has agreed on seasonal employment quotas for the tourism sector for 2027 and 2028 (6,250 places per year). The aim is to help hotels, restaurants, and other tourism businesses plan staffing over the longer term.
The Austrian Economic Chamber says the annual allocation is 4,250 under the general quota and 2,000 for workers from the Western Balkans. The general quota can increase by up to 50 percent during peak season, and unused places could also be made available to employers in other provinces.
The new rules will come into force from December 1st, 2026. The implementing regulation and the processing via the Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) will still apply and the agreement itself does not confer any automatic right to work in Austria.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How to find a summer job in Austria
From our guides
Need a doctor in Austria on a weekend, in the evening or when your usual GP is closed? Our guide to getting medical help outside normal opening hours covers when to call the 1450 health advice line, how the 141 out of hours medical service works and where you can go for urgent care without going straight to A&E.
Members get the full guide (including advice for parents with young kids, info on insurance and some useful German for medical situations). Membership also gives you access to The Local Austria's other practical guides, explainers and in-depth reporting on life in Austria.
READ ALSO: What foreigners need to know about the Austrian healthcare system
What's happening in Austria today
Monday, November 2nd is All Souls' Day (Allerseelen) so schools are all closed in Austria. It's not a nationwide public holiday, so the usual weekday opening rules generally apply, although individual opening hours may differ. Vienna's normal weekday short-stay parking rules are in force.
Rail passengers are in for more disruption today. Replacement buses are operating on the entire Mariazellerbahn between St Pölten and Mariazell until November 20th. On the Pannoniabahn in Burgenland, buses will be running in place of trains between Eisenstadt-Schule and Wulkaprodersdorf from 9am today until November 13th.
New roadworks are getting underway in Vienna with restrictions at the Kreuzgassebrücke in the 17th district and overnight lane closures on the Linke Wienzeile. In Klagenfurt, bus route 20 will be diverted from 6am with the St Martin and Kohldorfer Straße outbound stops out of action for a period.
Vienna is marking the sixth anniversary of the November 2nd, 2020 terrorist attack today with a commemorative ceremony at Desider-Friedmann-Platz in the city centre. Senior government and city officials are due at the 12:30pm wreath laying.
For those looking for something to do today, Wien Modern has a few free events on the programme. There's an afternoon event at the Otto Wagner Areal, an installation at the Wiener Konzerthaus and an evening concert at the Musikverein.
It'll be mostly cloudy or foggy over Austria with some light rain. In affected areas, the snowline will be around 900 to 1,300 metres. Afternoon temperatures will be 3 to 11C with some brighter spells possible in western Austria, especially in the mountains.
READ ALSO: KEY CHANGES: What’s changing in Austria in November 2026?
Vocabulary
das Zukunftsdepot – the planned child investment account
die Volksanwaltschaft – Austria's Ombudsman Board, which investigates complaints about public administration
Allerseelen – All Souls' Day, observed on November 2nd
If you've got any questions about life in Austria, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local then please get in touch via news@thelocal.at or leave a comment below.
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