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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland’s government has approved a bill that would provide state-funded assistants to support disabled people. It estimates that up to 100,000 disabled people would benefit, as well as up to half a million of their family members. The total cost over eight years would be around 47 billion zloty (€11 billion)
Creating such a system of assistance has long been demanded by disabled people and their families. It was one of the 100 promises Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition (KO) promised to implement in its first 100 days in office. However, that deadline has long since passed.
But, on Tuesday this week, the prime minister’s office announced that the cabinet had approved a bill on personal assistance for disabled people. To become law, the legislation would still need the approval of parliament, where Tusk has a majority, and President Nawrocki, who is aligned with the opposition.
📣 Mamy to! 👉 Przełomowy dla osób z niepełnosprawnościami i ich bliskich projekt ustawy o asystencji został przyjęty dziś przez #RadaMinistrów i teraz trafi do #Sejm ⤵️
📜 Przygotowany przez Pełnomocnika Rządu ds. Osób Niepełnosprawnych i zespół @MRPiPS_GOV__PL projekt zakłada… pic.twitter.com/Q6bHJjuHJ7— Ministerstwo Rodziny, Pracy i Polityki Społecznej (@MRPiPS_GOV__PL) October 28, 2025
Once introduced, the law would provide disabled people with “a personal assistant who will provide ongoing support in their daily lives, including transport, household management, handling official matters, as well as work, study, and social interactions”, says the government.
As well as helping the people concerned, the assistants would also “significantly reduce the burden on families and loved ones of people with disabilities”.
Until now, such assistants have only been available on a temporary basis and only in certain places under local programmes. The new system would be nationwide, with each assistant initially appointed for a period of one to three years, but with the possibility of extending that.
The government says that “people with disabilities will be free to choose their personal assistant”. In practice, notes Business Insider Polska, that will mean they can choose a qualified person who they know or ask an NGO or local authority to provide a list of at least two assistants to choose from.
The assistants will work for between 20 and 240 hours per month, depending on the person’s needs. Initially available for adults, after two years the programme will also open up to children aged 13 and above.
The service would be free of charge to those who use it and would be available from 2027. The government plans to allocate over 47 billion zloty to cover the costs of the programme up to 2035.
In a separate statement, the ministry for family, work and social policy said that the assistants would be offered “competitive salaries, which can exceed 8,000 zloty gross per month” for a full-time position. Poland’s current median wage is around 7,000 zloty per month.
The ministry also argues that the measures will provide a “powerful boost to the economy” by “giving many people with disabilities a real opportunity to enter the job market” while also freeing up family members to work.
Poland has recorded the EU’s second-fastest annual increase in public debt, new @EU_Eurostat data show.
The country has been running sizeable budget deficits in recent years as it boosts social spending and ramps up defence investment https://t.co/jjEqAJALl8
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 23, 2025
The bill marks the end of months of negotiations between different ministries as well as consultations with groups that will be affected. Delays in preparing the bill have prompted criticism, including from two parties in Tusk’s ruling coalition, The Left (Lewica) and Poland 2050 (Polska 2050).
In the meantime, two similar bills – one submitted last year by then-President Andrzej Duda and another submitted last week by MPs from The Left and Poland 2050 – are also already in parliament.
It remains to be seen how the three will be processed, and whether an attempt will be made to combine them. “We are ready to jointly process all three bills: the presidential, the government and the MPs’ one,” said Katarzyna Ueberhan of The Left, quoted by Business Insider.
While the government has a majority in parliament, it has regularly seen its bills vetoed by Nawrocki since he took office in August. However, deputy family, labour and social policy minister Sebastian Gajewski told Polskie Radio that he “cannot imagine” the president vetoing a bill providing support to disabled people
Disabled people and their carers have protested outside parliament, demanding that the government fulfil its pre-election promise to increase their welfare allowance to the level of the minimum wage.
Currently it stands at less than half that figure https://t.co/Xs9jaA5QMJ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 22, 2024
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: De an Sun/Unsplash
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
