Graz city ends pilot project providing social security for family caregivers

The city of Graz in Austria will end a pilot project that employed family caregivers to provide them with social security at the end of this year.

The project initially supported people who cared for relatives at home by hiring them as employees. The city of Graz hired up to 15 family caregivers for the program, though the number of participants reached 11 in the most recent period.

Although the city extended the project for 2025 and 2026 while discussing a potential expansion across the state, it decided to stop the program now to save money. Hannes Schwarz, the club chairman of SPÖ Steiermark, criticized the decision as a bad signal for the care sector. He argued that the city is removing a model that provides much needed relief for family caregivers.

Schwarz called for the city to reverse the decision and secure funding for 2027 to maintain the current employment status for these individuals.