The child related benefits funded by the Family Burden Equalisation Fund, particularly family allowance and child care benefit (CCB), have greatly contributed towards poverty reduction. Based on EU-SILC data for 2010, Austria’s family oriented anti-poverty policy reduces its child poverty rate by 63 per cent through a combination of family benefits and family-related tax breaks.
The amount of family allowance varies according to the age of the child (as of January 2018):
| Age of the child | Monthly Amount |
|---|---|
| From birth | 114.00 euros |
| 3 years and over | 121.90 euros |
| 10 years and over | 141.50 euros |
| 19 years and over | 165.10 euros |
| Supplement for a child with a severe disability | 155.90 euros |
At the beginning of September, a school start fee of 100 Euros is paid for each child aged between 6 and 15 years.
If there are several children in a family, sibling supplements are granted:
| Children in the family | Monthly Amount |
|---|---|
| two children | 7.10 euros each |
| three children | 17.40 euros each |
| four children | 26.50 euros each |
| five children | 32.00 euros each |
| six children | 35.70 euros each |
| seven children and more | 52 euros for each additional child |
Single earners and lone parents are entitled to the single earner / lone parent tax allowance:
- for one child − 494 euros (per annum)
- for two children − 669 euros (per annum)
- for three children − 889 euros (per annum)
- for each additional child − 220 euros (per annum)
Child care benefit (CCB) is payable at the earliest on the day the child is born. Entitlement to CCB generally does not depend on earlier employment or compulsory insurance. Therefore housewives/househusbands, students, „marginally employed“ persons and freelance employees are also entitled to CCB as long as there is an entitlement to family allowance in respect of the child according to the Family Allowance Act (Familienlastenausgleichsgesetz), the parents live in a common household with the child and a certain annual earnings limit is not exceeded.