Österreich · Informationsfreiheitsgesetz

Austria replaced official secrecy. Here is the system for what came after.

The IFG took effect on 1 September 2025, turning a constitutional duty of secrecy into a constitutional right of access. AccessPoint runs the four-week response, the formal Bescheid where information is refused, and the proactive Informationsregister duty.

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Austria — Informationsfreiheitsgesetz at a glance

Response deadline
Four weeks, extendable by a further four weeks where justified
Refusal
A formal Bescheid on request, within two months
Review
Beschwerde to the Verwaltungsgericht
Proactive duty
Publication of information of general interest in the Informationsregister
Fees
Access to information is generally free of charge
Languages
English, Deutsch

Built for Austria — Informationsfreiheitsgesetz

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

Four weeks, plus four

AccessPoint computes the response deadline on receipt over Austria's public-holiday calendar and tracks the extension with the justification recorded — because an extension taken without a stated reason is the first thing a Beschwerde attacks.

The Bescheid, drafted from the file

Where an applicant demands a formal decision, the Bescheid must set out reasons. Build it from the grounds already recorded against each withheld passage, so the decision and the working file say the same thing.

Built for judicial review

With no commissioner in between, a refusal goes to a court. Every withholding carries its statutory ground and its reasoning, in the form an administrative court expects to read.

The Informationsregister duty

Track what has been published proactively, when, and by whom — so the publication obligation is managed as a register rather than as an intention.

German-language throughout

AccessPoint's interface ships natively in German, and the pack carries German statutory wording, correspondence templates, and vocabulary.

In your own tenant

Information and records stay inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant, in the region you choose — no third-party cloud and no vendor access.

A constitutional reversal

For decades, Austrian officials were constitutionally obliged to keep quiet. Since September 2025, the presumption runs the other way.

Austria was among the last countries in Europe to hold official secrecy as a constitutional principle, and the IFG's entry into force on 1 September 2025 inverted it: a right to information, a duty to publish matters of general interest, and a formal decision an applicant can take to court where access is refused. Reversals of that size are not absorbed by adding a mailbox. Bodies that previously had no access function now need intake, deadlines, a way to reason about what may be withheld, and a written product that survives judicial scrutiny — from a standing start, with staff who have never run one. AccessPoint ships that as a configuration rather than a project: the clock, the grounds, the Bescheid, and the register, ready on day one.

Four-week clock Computed and visible, with extensions justified.
Reasoned decisions A Bescheid built from grounds already on the file.
Register managed Proactive publication tracked, not merely intended.

Configured out of the box

Installing the at-ifg jurisdiction pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check
  • The Informationsfreiheitsgesetz as the legal-authority spine
  • The four-week response clock with its four-week extension and Austria's public-holiday calendar
  • The Act's grounds for withholding, colour-coded for redaction and citable line by line
  • Bescheid issuance on request, within the two-month window, drafted from recorded grounds
  • Beschwerde tracking to the Verwaltungsgericht with grounds and outcomes
  • Informationsregister publication tracking for the proactive duty
  • German-language correspondence templates carrying the statutory wording
  • A timestamped audit trail built for judicial review

Austria — Informationsfreiheitsgesetz Questions

When did Austria's IFG take effect?
1 September 2025. It replaced the former constitutional duty of official secrecy with a right of access to information and a proactive publication duty, making Austria one of the most recent European states to adopt a general freedom of information regime.

Is there an information commissioner to appeal to?
No. Austria did not create one. Where access is refused, the applicant may require a formal administrative decision — a Bescheid — which must be issued within two months and can be challenged by Beschwerde before the competent Verwaltungsgericht. Review is judicial from the outset, which is why the written reasons matter so much.

Does the pack cover the Informationsregister?
It covers the tracking side: what has been published proactively, when, by whom, and under which category, so the duty is managed and evidenced. Publication itself happens in the register; AccessPoint keeps the record of the obligation being met.

Is the platform available in German?
Yes. AccessPoint's interface ships natively in German, and this pack carries German statutory wording, correspondence templates, and vocabulary, with English available alongside.

Run the Informationsfreiheitsgesetz in Your Own Tenant

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, configured for Austria. No credit card required.

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