Maternity Allowance (Wochengeld)

• Who – claimants, conditions
• When – duration of claim
• How much – amount of claim
• What with – necessary documents
• Where – contacts, competence, additional information

Who
Maternity allowance is due in different forms to

»employed women
»self-employed women (and „freie Dienstnehmerinnen“ over and above marginal income
»marginally employed women
»impecunious women

When
Maternity Allowance is due during the period of maternity leave, which as a rule lasts from eight weeks before to eight weeks after confinement. With multiple births, preterm deliveries and caesarean births, the period is extended to twelve weeks after confinement.
Maternity Allowance should be applied for eight weeks before calculated confinement (competent authority see contacts).
Maternity Allowance is paid out every four weeks, automatically and in retrospect. 
For medical reasons, expectant mothers can obtain leave of absence beginning before maternity leave. Maternity Allowance is paid for this period, too. In this case, Maternity Allowance should be applied for immediately after the prohibition to work was issued.

For payment after confinement the following documents are necessary:
• Confirmation of hospitalisation
• Confirmation of birth
• For multiple, Caesarean or preterm births a separate doctor’s certificate

How much
The amount of Maternity Allowance depends on which of the following groups you belong to:
• employed women
• self-employed women over and above marginal incomes
• marginally employed women
• social welfare benefit for impecunious expectant mothers and women in childbed

What with
»to the Health Insurances’ forms (bottom right in the menu)
Employed women need:
• Doctor’s certificate on calculated date of confinement
• Employment and salary certificate for Maternity Allowance (available at the Health Insurance)
• "Mitteilung über den Leistungsanspruch" (a computer printout which contains start, amount and end of claim), which you will only need when you received either unemployment money, social welfare benefit or Child Allowance immediately before the start of the eight weeks’ protection period.

Where
Competence:
For employed women, self-employed women and marginally employed women the health insurances are the relevant authorities.
Impecunious expectant mothers and women in childbed need to contact their local administration, for Viennese women the Municipal Department 11 is competent (see additional information).
 
Additional information:
Arbeiterkammer-Portal
The Chamber of Labour’s portal offers information under the heading "Wochengeld".

Women’s counsel
The information platform of the Federal Chancellery offers advice under the heading "Wochengeld".

Help.gv.at
The official Austrian authorities guide offers extensive information and links, as well as an authorities database, which you can use to contact e.g. your local administration (Bezirkshauptmannschaft). 

Municipal Department 11 – Youth and Family
The MAG Elf is responsible for all Viennese women, and offers information and counselling from education issues to legal and financial questions.
The Youth and Family authority is the competent authority for Maternity Allowance for impecunious expectant mothers and women in childbed.

Österreichische Sozialversicherung
...makes available information on Maternity Allowance in general (with links to all health insurances), on  claim duration and on the amount of Maternity Allowance.
Employed women, marginally employed women and self-employed women over and above marginal incomes will contact their health insurance on claiming Maternity Allowance.