Österreich · EAA-Leitfaden

EAA in Austria — Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG)

Austria transposed the European Accessibility Act through the Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG), published in the Bundesgesetzblatt and in force from 28 June 2025. The enforcing authority is the Sozialministeriumservice (SMS), which handles both guidance and administrative penalties. Under the Austrian VStG penalty framework, fines for persistent non-compliance reach up to €80,000 per offence, applied separately per violation and per responsible person. Austrian transposition sits alongside the pre-existing Bundes-Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz (BGStG), which enables private-law discrimination claims — a double exposure not shared by all EU member states.

Rechtsgrundlage — the legal stack

  • Web-Zugänglichkeitsgesetz (WZG) (2019) — transposition of Directive 2016/2102 for federal public-sector bodies. Uses EN 301 549 as the technical standard.
  • Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG) (2024, effective 28 June 2025) — transposition of Directive 2019/882 (the EAA) to private-sector operators.
  • Bundes-Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz (BGStG) — pre-existing federal disability-equality framework, enables private civil claims for discrimination through inaccessible services. Still enforceable in parallel.
  • EN 301 549 v3.2.1 — harmonised standard, embeds WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
  • Verwaltungsstrafgesetz (VStG) — general administrative-penalty framework SMS invokes for fining.

The double-track exposure (BaFG administrative fines plus BGStG civil claims) means a single accessibility failure can generate both a SMS procedure and a private-action claim from an affected user.

Who it applies to

In-scope services for consumers in Austria:

  • E-commerce, online marketplaces, booking platforms (Booking.com type).
  • Consumer-facing banking, payment, and financial services.
  • E-books, e-readers, and associated software.
  • Consumer-facing electronic communications (messaging, VoIP, 112 emergency calls).
  • ÖBB-style passenger-transport ticketing, real-time info, self-service terminals.
  • Consumer hardware terminals (Bankomat ATMs, check-in machines) and their operating systems.

Microenterprise exemption per Article 4(5) EAA, transposed directly into BaFG: fewer than 10 employees and annual turnover / balance sheet under €2M, providing services. Product manufacturers are not exempt regardless of size.

Non-Austrian operators serving Austrian consumers fall within SMS reach. German-language sites marketed to DACH users should treat Austrian compliance alongside BFSG (Germany) and BehiG (Switzerland, EU-adjacent).

Technical requirements — EN 301 549

BaFG references EN 301 549 v3.2.1. For web content, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the conformance target. Key technical expectations:

  • Perceivable — alt text, captions for prerecorded video, 4.5:1 body contrast, 3:1 large text.
  • Operable — full keyboard navigability, no flashing above 3 Hz, visible focus indicator.
  • Understandable — <html lang="de-AT">, predictable navigation, explicit form labels in Austrian German (address format, date format, postal code patterns differ from DE).
  • Robust — valid HTML, ARIA consistent with DOM semantics.

Austrian-specific patterns to get right: postal code validation (4 digits), phone-number format (+43), address format (PLZ before city, not after), and the handling of ß vs ss (Austrian German uses ß like German German, unlike Swiss German).

Penalties — VStG + BGStG double exposure

  • Administrative fines (SMS via VStG): up to €80,000 per offence, applied per violation and per responsible natural person (managing director, executive).
  • Continuing-offence multiplier: each day of continued non-compliance after notice can count as a separate offence.
  • Public decision register via the Sozialministeriumservice — Austrian consumer advocates (Behindertenrat, AK) publicise findings.
  • BGStG civil claims — disabled users and representative associations can bring private actions for damages, including non-pecuniary damages for discrimination through inaccessible services. Settlements commonly sit in €500-€5,000 per individual claimant; class-style claims through the Klagsverband can aggregate significantly higher.
  • Sector overlays: FMA (financial services) and RTR (telecoms) apply separate enforcement frameworks on top.

The BGStG civil-claim route is distinctive. In Germany the BFSG is primarily enforced administratively; in Austria the private-action route sits in parallel and is actively used by the Klagsverband (an accredited litigation association). This makes ongoing CI evidence especially valuable in Austria.

Barrierefreiheitserklärung — the statement

Required elements of the Austrian accessibility statement (Barrierefreiheitserklärung):

  1. Conformance status: vollständig konform / teilweise konform / nicht konform to EN 301 549.
  2. List of non-accessible content with justification (unverhältnismäßige Belastung, exemption, pending remediation).
  3. Named accessibility contact (email required; phone recommended).
  4. Escalation procedure — Sozialministeriumservice for BaFG matters, Schlichtungsstelle (BMAW) for BGStG matters, plus sector regulator where relevant.
  5. Assessment methodology (self-assessment, third-party audit) with date.
  6. Preparation and last-review dates.
  7. Statement must itself be accessible; published in German (Austrian German conventions preferred — Jänner not Januar, Feber not Februar).

How to comply — CI-first approach

  1. Baseline scan — axe-core 4.11 against homepage + 10 critical flows. Most untuned Austrian DTC sites return 30-80 violations.
  2. Fix at source — overlay widgets do not satisfy EN 301 549. SMS evaluates the served HTML. The Klagsverband will too.
  3. CI gate — fail PRs on serious-severity regressions. Prevents drift between audits.
  4. Annual human audit — axe-core catches ~57% of WCAG issues. Commission an IAAP-certified auditor for the remainder. Austrian-based auditors (HilfsgemeinschaftderBlinden, integriert) are known references.
  5. Publish the Barrierefreiheitserklärung with SMS escalation + Schlichtungsstelle details in Austrian German.
  6. Retain evidence — CI scan history is the most defensible ongoing-diligence record in a SMS or Klagsverband proceeding.
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