The Budget committee The National Council today dealt with the means that are estimated for women’s affairs and equality in UG 31 (science and research) in 2025 and 2026. The payments should be 33.6 million ꞓ in 2025 and 34.1 million ꞓ in the coming year. They remain at the same level as in 2024 (33.6 million ꞓ). The funds are largely intended for violence and funding – for example from women and girls’ advice centers.
Minister of Women Eva-Maria Holzleitner emphasized in the committee that the financing of the violence protection centers, women’s protection accommodation and violence, but also the promotion of various places in women’s and girls’ advice was secured.
Women’s budget should be continued
The budget for women’s affairs and equality has hiked from the Federal Chancellery to the budget chapter 31 (science and research) and has been offset against it since April 2025. For the period before that, 0.6 million ꞓ were still estimated in the UG 10 (Federal Chancellery). Together with the payments planned for the rest of the year 2025 in the UG 31 of around 33 million ꞓ there is a budget of 33.6 million ꞓ for this year. The funds for women’s matters and equality remain like 2024. In 2026, a slight increase of 0.5 million ꞓ or 1.5 % is planned to 34.1 million ꞓ. This goes from the templates for the Federal Finance Act 2025 (67 d.B.) and 2026 (68 d.B.). There are no deposits in the women’s budget.
Meri Disoski (Greens) criticized the budget development. She is not happy that after a five -time budget increase, the women’s budget is now stagnating. If you take into account inflation, it is de facto a cut, according to Disoski. Sabine Schatz (SPÖ), on the other hand, wanted to “recognize” that the women’s budget remained at the level of 2024 despite the need for consolidation. Juliane Bogner-Strauß (ÖVP) was also satisfied with this. The budget consolidation is necessary, said Eva-Maria Holzleitner. However, it was important to her that the women’s budget would not be reduced by any euro.
With a total budget of the federal government of 123.2 billion ꞓ in 2025, the funds for women and equality make 0.03 %. As the parliament’s budget service shows in its analysis of the budget chapter, other subdivisions are also estimated for violence and equality – especially in the budgets for the internal (29.7 million ꞓ for 2025 and 30.7 million ꞓ for 2026), Justice (9.1 or 9.6 million ꞓ), social and family and family and family and family and family and Youth (each 23.8 million ꞓ). The budget service notes that the government has not presented a systematic and consistent representation of the funds for violence protection that contains all relevant projects and programs with the budget documents.
Rosa Ecker (FPÖ) recalled the criticism of the Court of Auditors because of the lack of transparency of the budget documents and stated that the budget service of the parliament recommends an annual gender budget statement. Women’s Minister Holzleitner assured that the government wants to get better in the transparency of the budget documents, but was not yet 100 % successful due to the speed in the double budget 2025/2026. The implementation of a gender budget statement is fixed in the government program, says Holzleitner. When asked by Meri Disoski (Greens), the head of the budget service Kristina Fuchs also underlined the need for a gender budget statement in order to be able to examine political measures accordingly.
Sabine Schatz (SPÖ) asked about offensive measures in women’s policy, which are not shown in the minister in the budget. Holzleitner referred to the focus of women health, for which 10 million ꞓ are budgeted and the planned sales tax exemption for menstrual items and contraceptive products. In addition, she led the maintenance guarantee funded with 35 million ꞓ, which Bernhard Herzog (SPÖ) had also asked for.
Focus on violence protection
For 2025 and 2026, 12.2 million ꞓ are estimated in the women’s budget for work performance, which are to be spent in particular for violence protection centers. In addition, a purpose subsidy for women’s protection accommodation in the amount of 3 million ꞓ is planned to the federal states.
A total of 31 18 million ꞓ are intended for violence in the UG, Minister Holzleitner stated when asked by Ricarda Berger (FPÖ). This includes the financial security of the violence protection centers, the violence in Vienna and Graz as well as the women’s protection accommodation. According to Holzleitner, the women’s and girls’ advice centers, which are supported by grants, also take on violence protection tasks. The budget could be kept stable, the minister assured.
Sabine Schatz (SPÖ) asked closer to the women’s protection accommodation. Holzleitner stated that it is an agreement with the federal states. A total of 180 places – 90 for women and 90 for children are to be created. The implementation is the responsibility of the federal states. However, she assumes that all places will be built as planned.
Juliane Bogner-Strauß (ÖVP) addressed the violent outpatient clinics. By the end of 2025 – 1.7 million ꞓ for the violence in Graz and 2.8 million ꞓ for those in Vienna are intended for this in Vienna. She perceives very positively that Upper Austria has already expressed the desire for a violence. In any case, in the government program it is anchored to roll out the violence at all of Austria. Evaluation is also planned.
Rosa Ecker (FPÖ) wanted to know which funds are intended to secure the existence of women’s emergency calls. For this, 900,000 ꞓ are planned, said Holzleitner. Eckers faction colleague Andrea Michaela Schartel asked whether the national action plan against violence on women is budgeted. Currently, the work performance of employees is currently flowing: inside the ministries and their know-how in the creation of the national action plan, according to the minister. It is also deliberately not intended for campaigns or “large roar” because the NAP is not a media campaign.
Meri Disoski (Greens) and Henrike Brandstötter (NEOS) spoke about the information campaign to KO-drops, to which the equal treatment committee sent a motion for a decision this week. Minister Holzleitner assured that she takes parliament very seriously. However, after there is no decision by the National Council, no funds have yet been provided.
Funding of advice centers for women and girls
Overall, the transfer payments, i.e. the subsidies, decrease slightly to 21.4 million ꞓ for 2025 and 21.9 million ꞓ for 2026. In 2024, the transfer expenditure was 22.9 million ꞓ. The majority (15.6 million ꞓ in both years) is intended for private institutions. These are in particular women’s and girls’ advice centers and violence. For the Austrian fund for strengthening and promoting women and girls (LEA), 3.8 million ꞓ and 2026 3.3 million ꞓ are planned for 2025.
Rosa Ecker (FPÖ) stated that the plus for the Lea fund was the only increase in budgets and recalled that Holzleitner himself criticized the fund in the past. The minister emphasized that the fund should be made more transparent and that the parliament should report reports. She will have a look at Lea. Initial talks with the new director went positively.
For women and girls’ advice centers, 13.8 million ꞓ are planned in both years of budget, the minister explained. These are mainly advertised via conveying calls. Henrike Brandstötter (NEOS) asked about the focus of these funding calls. The funds are currently flowing from the grants advertised in 2024, in which the focus on women over the age of 60, rural regions, digital space as well as cultural and kept -based violence were flowing, according to Holzleitner. The funding call 2025, which is to be started immediately after the decision of the budget in the National Council, is increasingly devoted to the topics of paid and unpaid work, mental load, women’s health and the self -image and self -esteem of young women.
As other target groups, the focus is on migrants and women with disabilities, said Holzleitner when asked by Agnes Totter (ÖVP). Verena Nussbaum (SPÖ) and Meri Disoski (Greens) asked about the funds for women with disabilities. For this year, around 230,000 ꞓ were available for special specialist organizations, the minister said. The funding would continue in the same amount. By Lisa Schuch-Gubik (FPÖ) for Geldern for LGBTIQ+measures, the minister referred to the promotion of ten advisory services in 2024 with a sum of 500,000 ꞓ, which is also to be continued in 2025 and 2026.
Johannes Gasser (NEOS) addressed the gender Pay Gap and asked about measures to increase the full -time employment of women. The minister referred to the work of the women’s and girls’ advice centers, which would also inform about the issues of work and return aftercut. By Katayun Pracer-Hilander (FPÖ) for psychiatric institutions in the case of puerperium depression, Holzleitner stated that no means were estimated in the UG 31 in the women’s budget.
Equal treatment attorney and staff
The budget of the equal treatment lawyer (GAW) is also estimated in the UG 31 together with the funds for the central office and service facilities of the department. When asked by Roland Baumann (SPÖ), the minister explained that the GAW was financially secured for 2025 and 2026 at 185,000 ꞓ per year.
With the Federal Minister amendment, the women’s section was also integrated into the UG 31. This increased the positions in the 2025 department from 562 to 695, whereby there are also positions in the field of adult education.
The Federal Finance Framework 2025 to 2028 and the Federal Finance Framework 2026 to 2029 were negotiated66 d.B.). (Continued budget committee) Kar
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