Authority for a child's care and medical treatment (Austria)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
The authority by which parents leave the care and upbringing of their child to grandparents, relatives, a host family or a holiday camp for a set period, and allow consent to medical treatment — routine care, emergencies or a described treatment. It follows Austria's age rule: from 14 a child is presumed able to decide alone (§ 173 ABGB, the Austrian Civil Code), so for older children the authority only supplies the extra consent serious treatment needs. Custody (Obsorge) stays with the parents. With the child's e-card number and health notes. In German, ready to print and sign.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Child
- Child's date of birth
- Child's health insurance number
- Child's health insurer
- Parent
- Parent's academic degree (if any)
- Parent's date of birth
- Parent's address
- Phone
- Other parent
- Other parent's academic degree (if any)
- Other parent's date of birth
- Other parent's address
- Other parent's phone
- Custody of the child (Obsorge)
- Agent
- Agent's date of birth
- Agent's address
- Agent's phone
- Agent's ID card or passport number
- Relationship
- Start date
- Valid until
- Treatment the agent may consent to
- Treatment the authority covers (if chosen)
- Child's chronic conditions, allergies, medicines and vaccinations
- City
- Date
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- May a child of 14 or over consent to medical treatment alone in Austria?
- Yes, if the child can decide; from the 14th birthday that capacity is presumed (§ 173 Abs 1 ABGB). The child then decides, and this authority does not replace the child’s consent. Treatment that usually causes serious or lasting harm also needs the agreement of the person entrusted with care and upbringing (§ 173 Abs 2 ABGB) — under this authority, the agent, for a treatment described in it. Where a younger child cannot yet decide, the agent consents on the parents’ behalf.
- Must both parents holding custody in Austria sign this authority?
- Not always. Under § 167 Abs 1 ABGB each parent holding custody (Obsorge) can act alone, and the act is valid even if the other disagrees; for a short stay, such as a holiday, one signature is usually enough. But § 167 Abs 2 ABGB requires both parents’ consent for certain matters, among them handing the child into another’s care (Übergabe in fremde Pflege) and a change of name. If the child is to live with the agent for longer, such as with a host family, both parents had better sign. The agent may not deal with the matters in § 167 Abs 2 ABGB.
- What does the agent need at a doctor's surgery or hospital in Austria?
- The original authority, their own photo ID and the child’s e-card. Austrian law prescribes no form for this authority; whether a surgery or hospital asks for more, such as copies of the parents’ ID, is up to it — ask before a planned appointment. In an emergency no consent is needed if delay would endanger the child’s life or seriously damage their health (§ 173 Abs 3 ABGB).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Application for care allowance – Pflegegeld (Austria)
The application for care allowance (Pflegegeld), or for a higher level of it, to the PVA, SVS, BVAEB or AUVA under Austria's Federal Care Allowance Act (BPGG) — with insurance number, pension received, treating doctor, the help needed in your own words, a person you trust for the assessment, and IBAN. Care allowance is due from the first of the month after the application arrives (§ 9 BPGG): the day it arrives counts. The insurers provide their own form free of charge, but an application without it is valid too. In German, to print, sign and send promptly.
- Request to see the medical record and for a copy (Austria)
The letter to a doctor's practice (Ordination) or hospital in Austria asking to see your medical record (ärztliche Dokumentation, Krankengeschichte) and for a complete copy — findings, doctors' letters, imaging, surgery and nursing reports. Since 30 July 2026 the first copy is free under the Austrian Physicians Act (§ 51 Abs 1 ÄrzteG 1998); for hospitals the letter relies on the Hospitals Act (§ 10 KAKuG), the Land's hospital act and Art 15 GDPR, under which the first copy is free too. Deadline: one month (Art 12(3) GDPR). You choose a copy, or inspection and a copy, and e-mail, post or collection. In German.
- Request for a formal decision from a social insurer (Austria)
The letter by which you expressly ask Austria's ÖGK, SVS, BVAEB, PVA or AUVA for a formal decision (Bescheid) on a benefit it refused (§ 367(1) of the General Social Insurance Act, ASVG, applied to the SVS and BVAEB by § 194 GSVG, § 182 BSVG and § 129 B-KUVG). There is no appeal within the insurer: a refusal by letter or phone can be challenged only once it is a Bescheid, by a claim at the Labour and Social Court. With the benefit, the date of your application, how it was refused and your reasons — after a refused reimbursement or rehabilitation, for instance. In German.
- Claim for reimbursement after a non-contracted doctor or therapist (Austria)
The covering letter for sending paid fee notes from a Wahlarzt or Wahltherapeut — a doctor or therapist without a contract with the insurer — to Austria's statutory health insurers ÖGK, SVS or BVAEB: with insurance number, patient, treatment period, fee notes and IBAN, and for the psychotherapy subsidy too. The ÖGK refunds 80 % of its contract tariff, not of the bill (§ 131 ASVG, Austria's General Social Insurance Act), if the claim arrives within 42 months of treatment (§ 102 ASVG). Online through MeineSV or the insurer's app is free and usually simpler; this letter is for claims on paper. In German.
- Application to determine insurance periods (Austria)
The application to the PVA, SVS or BVAEB to determine your insurance periods bindingly, by formal decision (Bescheid), under § 247 of Austria's General Social Insurance Act (ASVG), or § 117a GSVG for those insured with the SVS — the way to settle missing periods such as child-raising, military or civilian service or employment before claiming a pension, rather than relying on the non-binding account statement. With insurance number, date of birth, former surnames and the periods at issue; proof is enclosed. The decision can be challenged at the Labour and Social Court. In German.
- Claim for reimbursement to a private health insurer (Austria)
The letter for sending doctor's, therapy or hospital bills to your private health insurer in Austria for reimbursement — under a non-contracted-doctor or private-ward (Sonderklasse) tariff, for instance: with policy number, patient, treatment, invoices, the amount already refunded by the statutory insurer (ÖGK, SVS or BVAEB) and IBAN, with no diagnosis in the letter. If the insurer refuses, it asks for written reasons naming the policy clause relied on. Many insurers offer an app or customer portal for uploading invoices; your policy terms say which documents are needed. In German.