Waited for an Assistant? Now You Can Claim Compensation
The Sjena Association warns: financial compensation for the transitional period is not paid automatically; a separate application must be submitted to the Croatian Institute for Social Work.
The Sjena Association warns: financial compensation for the transitional period is not paid automatically; a separate application must be submitted to the Croatian Institute for Social Work.
Users of personal assistance services in Croatia have begun receiving new decisions based on a government regulation adopted at the end of December 2025. This regulation, aligned with a Constitutional Court ruling, has expanded the rights to a personal assistant, but the Sjena Association is drawing attention to an important transitional provision that is often misinterpreted.
Specifically, Articles 9, 10, and 11 of the aforementioned regulation stipulate that individuals who submitted their application for a personal assistant within six months of its entry into force, and whose right was subsequently recognized, are also entitled to financial compensation for the transitional period. This serves as a form of compensation because the service was unavailable to them while their request was being processed.
The key information highlighted by the Sjena Association, which represents families of children with developmental disabilities and persons with disabilities, is that this compensation is not paid automatically. The Croatian Institute for Social Work issues a separate decision specifying the number of unused hours and the amount of compensation, and the beneficiary must submit a separate application for it.
It is important to note that this compensation is not automatically paid. The Institute issues a special decision determining the number of unused hours and the amount of compensation, and the beneficiary must submit an application for it. The value of one hour of compensation is determined by the Government through a special decision, the Sjena Association states.
The application for compensation must be submitted to the competent social work center. Suzana Rešetar, president of the Sjena Association, reveals that she herself has gone through this process.
Immediately after submitting my application for a personal assistant, I also submitted an application for the compensatory measure. These are two different processes, but I hope both will be completed as soon as possible, Rešetar said.
Rešetar emphasizes that finding a service provider, or the personal assistants themselves, is not a condition for exercising this right. She also warns about a practice that parents of children with developmental disabilities encounter.
I see from parents that they are being deterred by the words 'bring a certificate,' and I have even experienced this myself, says the president of the Sjena Association.
According to official data from the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, since the adoption of the government regulation at the end of December 2025, a total of 1,685 new applications for personal assistant services have been received. Of that number, 1,116 applications are from users in the old system who had not previously requested the service, while 569 applications are completely new. Among the new applications, 314 are for children under 18 years of age.
The Croatian Institute for Social Work is currently conducting procedures to harmonize and issue new executive decisions, and the exact number of final decisions issued so far has not been published because the assessment phase is ongoing. The Institute has a six-month deadline from the entry into force of the regulation to complete all procedures and issue final decisions.
The government regulation has also extended the right to a personal assistant to children who already have a parent caregiver and to individuals entitled to home help. Additionally, the fixed maximum range of hours has been removed, so the service can now be provided up to 24 hours a day.
