Commissioner for Human Rights

• Following the referral of the consolidated draft law on personal assistance for persons with disabilities to the third reading in Parliament, the Commissioner for Human Rights draws attention to several issues that require renewed analysis.
• The CHR critically assesses: age-based restrictions on access to personal assistance services, the limited number of support hours available to beneficiaries, the duration of decisions granting entitlement to personal assistance, the legal framework for cooperation with a personal assistant, and the financing of the assistance system.
• The Commissioner is also concerned about the reduction of PLN 500 million in the 2027 budget for ministerial programmes financed from the Solidarity Fund, including personal assistance, respite care, and residential care centres.
• Furthermore, changes introduced in the draft concerning the selection of personal assistants represent a step backwards from the standards set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, writes Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram to the Speaker of Parliament, urging that these concerns be considered during further legislative work.

Parliament merged three separate draft bills into a single proposal and held its second reading on 2 September 2026. Following its referral to the third reading, the Commissioner for Human Rights has highlighted key issues that require thorough reconsideration.

The CHR identifies the following areas as particularly problematic:

• Age-based restrictions on access to personal assistance services;
• The limited number of support hours available to beneficiaries;
• The duration of decisions granting entitlement to personal assistance;
• The legal form governing cooperation with personal assistants;
• The financing model for the personal assistance system.

The Commissioner is also concerned about the planned reduction of PLN 500 million in the 2027 budget allocated to ministerial programmes financed through the Solidarity Fund. These programmes include personal assistance services, respite care, and residential care centres. Until now, they have been implemented by local government units and non-governmental organisations.

In addition, Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram stresses that, compared with earlier versions of the draft legislation, a number of provisions previously considered consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have been withdrawn.

She points in particular to the removal of provisions allowing for self-employment and broader freedom in choosing a personal assistant. The original concept has been reduced to selecting an assistant from candidates listed in an official register or choosing one out of three candidates proposed by the responsible body. According to the CHR, this change clearly represents a departure from the standards established by the Convention.

The Commissioner for Human Rights therefore calls for these concerns to be carefully analysed and taken