The representation of the interests of the elderly on the federal level and the advice, information and care through seniors' associations is guaranteed in the Bundes-Seniorengesetz (1998). Of particular importance for the equality of opportunities and integration of people with disabilities is the establishment of a protection against discrimination and the declaration (of the Republic) for the equal treatment of disabled and non-disabled people in the Austrian constitution. Based on this declaration, a work group was established that screened the Austrian law regarding discriminations of disabled people and reported to the National Assembly. Following this report, a few amendments have already been made, especially in the area of procedural law.
The use of internet has become an important issue in the past years. However, still only 6% of the population aged 60 or above use the internet. A variety of pilot projects have been initiated to improve this. Pressure groups see the lack of awareness among funding organisations, government and the general public as an important issue. It was often mentioned that the elderly are still sceptical about IT-devices. In relation to telecare applications, active alarm systems are used by the majority of care service providers while passive alarm systems and advanced systems based on video are not widely used. Most of the care providing organisations co-operate with one dominating supplier of telecare devices, which seems to have a market dominating position.
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