Clothing Wear and Tear Allowance from Accident Insurance

The clothing wear allowance from accident insurance enables prosthesis wearers, users of self-propelled wheelchairs, and wearers of support corsets in Vienna to receive an annual lump sum payment to compensate for increased textile abrasion. Since January 1, 2013, this funding has been granted continuously without a fixed application deadline. Paraplegics with bladder and bowel incontinence, provided they are entitled to benefits under the guidelines of the General Accident Insurance Institution (AUVA) or the Civil Servants’ Insurance, also benefit from the allowance at the applicable rates. The payment is made within the framework of accident insurance as a social insurance benefit and counts as pension and provision income. This ensures that eligible persons are not additionally burdened when their assistive devices cause above-average wear on clothing. Those who were granted a clothing wear allowance before December 31, 1988, retain their previous entitlement at the original amount unchanged.

The subsidy is awarded by the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection (Section II); applications can be submitted at any time without a deadline. The requirements include, in addition to possession of prostheses, support corsets, or self-propelled wheelchairs, proof of a corresponding approval before 1988 (for AUVA-insured persons). The allowance helps to reduce financial barriers to the use of orthopedic aids and sustainably secures the quality of life of eligible persons. Interested individuals can find detailed information on funding amounts and application procedures in the official guidelines and legal bases (§ 202 ASVG in conjunction with the prosthesis guidelines of the AUVA or § 70b Civil Servants’ Health and Accident Insurance Act).