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Methodology for the analysis of Access to information Laws based on the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention)
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Country: Austria
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Name of the law: "Informationsfreiheitsgesetz"Note: Law has been adopted on 26.02.2024 and will be enforced in on 01.0.2025
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Source URL original language law: Link
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Source URL English version law: Not available yet
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Date country first adopted a law: 01.01.2006
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Date of last revision to the law:
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Date of Constitution: 01.10.1920
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Other laws and implementing regulations included in this review - for each law give name, date, and URL of original and English versions
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Key Instructions:
- When citing an article, put both the number (and the reference if it is not the main access to information law) and the relevant extract (do not simply cut and paste the entire article!);
- Always provide a comment/justification for the score which you have allocated;
- When there is an article in the law which does not merit obtaining points, score 0 points, and be sure to put the article in the relevant field, and to explain in the comments section why you feel it does not mertit points;
- Where a subsection has multiple possible answers and you are only giving one score, please put 0 points in the other fields;
- For all responses which have a specific answer (timeframes, fees), for clarity, please put these in the comments section, even if they are also mentioned in the law.
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Article of the Tromsø Convention Elements Max PositiveMax NegativeScore positiveScore NegativeTotal Score
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1. Article 1 - General ProvisionsDefinition Information/Documents, Public Bodies covered45-1837-136
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2. Article 2 - Right of access to official documentsWho has the right to request25025025
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3. Article 3 – Possible limitations to access to official documentsExceptions, and harm and public interest tests50-10909
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4. Article 4 – Requests for access to official documentsHow requesters submit requests 20-6606
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5. Article 5 – Processing of requests for access to official documentsProcessing of Requests30-1319019
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6. Article 6 – Forms of access to official documentsIn which formats can information/documents be accessed10-210-28
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7. Article 7 – Charges for access to official documentsFees and Charges20-817017
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8. Article 8 – Review procedureExternal Appeal Procedure65-345045
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9. Article 9 – Complementary measuresEducation on the Right150000
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10. Article 10 – Documents made public at the initiative of the public authoritiesProactive Publication re right of access to information 200000
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Total score300-60168-3165
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Article Tromsø Article 1 - General ProvisionsScope of the right of access Max PositiveMax NegativeScore +ve Score -veTotal score section Article of law national law Comments / Justification
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1,1Access to Information and/or Documents

Requesters have a right to access both information and records/documents (i.e. a right both to ask for information and to apply for specific documents).		Does the the law state that requester can ask for information and/or documents?
If law specifies information and documents, award 4 points
If only documents, then just 2 points
444Definitions
§ 2. (1) Information within the meaning of this Federal Act is any record serving official or corporate purposes in the sphere of activity of a body, in the area of activity of a foundation, a fund or an institution or in the business area of an undertaking, regardless of the form in which it exists and is available.
(2) Information of general interest within the meaning of this Federal Act is information that concerns or is relevant to a general group of persons, in particular such divisions of business, rules of procedure, activity reports, official gazettes, official statistics, studies, expert opinions, surveys, statements and contracts prepared or commissioned by bodies obliged to provide information. Contracts for a value (Sections 13 to 18 of the Federal Procurement Act 2018 – BVergG 2018, Federal Law Gazette I No. 65/2018) of at least EUR 100,000 are in any case of general interest.		The two provisions regulates the access to information, which is defined as any form of record within the scope of public bodies and therefore includes both information and documents.
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Excluded information Are any types of information excluded from the access to information law? (e.g. environment information) (if yes, minus 1 point for each type of information excluded, to a maximum of -10, and specify in comments )
Specify the law which regulates access to this information 		0-10-1-1Environmental information is regulated in the Environmental Information Act.
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1,2Public Authorities

“public authorities” means:

government and administration at national, regional and local level;
legislative bodies insofar as they perform administrative functions according to national law;
judicial authorities insofar as they perform administrative functions according to national law;

Each Party may, at the time of signature or when depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, by a declaration addressed to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, declare that the definition of “public authorities” also includes one or more of the following:

legislative bodies as regards their other activities;
judicial authorities as regards their other activities;
natural or legal persons insofar as they exercise administrative authority.		The law applies to the following Executive branch/Government/ Public Administration bodies: Score 3 points if fully covered, 1 point if partially covered.
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Executive / cabinet333Scope
§ 1. This federal law regulates the publication of information of general interest and access to information in the field of activity or business
1. of the organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities,
2. the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law,
3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration,
4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and
5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met.
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National level administration 333
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Regional administration 333
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Local administration 333
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Archives (national and regional/local + historical archives)30Not mentioned. Regulated in other specific law on archives.
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Deduct 1 point for each government/public administration/executive branch body excluded up to minus 5 points -50
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The law applies to the Legislative Branch
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EITHER
Legislative branch only administrative functions / information (2 points if all levels of government, 1 point if only national level)
OR
Legislative branch all functions / information held (5 points if all levels of government, 1 point if only national level), so max 5 points		555§ 1. This federal law regulates the publication of information of general interest and access to information in the field of activity or business
1. of the organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities,
2. the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law,
3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration,
4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and
5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met.
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Deduct 1 point for each legislative branch body excluded and specify which in comments up to minus 3 points -30
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The law applies to the Judicial Branch
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Judicial branch only administrative functions / information (2 points if all levels of government, 1 point if only national level)
OR
Judicial branch all functions / information held (5 points if all levels of government, 1 point if only national level), so max 5 points		522§ 1. This federal law regulates the publication of information of general interest and access to information in the field of activity or business
1. of the organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities,
2. the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law,
3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration,
4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and
5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met.		The judicial branch is included in the scope of § 1 "organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities, the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law." Experts agree that this is limited to matters of judicial administration only.
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Deduct 1 point for if other judicial branch bodies are excluded and specify which in comments. 0
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The law applies to State-owned enterprises
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If all state-owned enterprises included award 2 points. If only state-owned enterprises above a threshold of 50% or more award 1 point - please specify the threshold in the comments222§ 1. This federal law regulates the publication of information of general interest and access to information in the field of activity or business
1. of the organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities,
2. the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law,
3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration,
4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and
5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met.		3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration.'
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The law applies to Independent Bodies
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All independent regulatory and oversight institutions if all then 2 points, only some 1 point. 222§ 1. This federal law regulates the publication of information of general interest and access to information in the field of activity or business
1. of the organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities,
2. the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law,
3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration,
4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and
5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met.
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The law applies to Private Bodies
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All private bodies that perform a public function (2 points), some bodies (1 point). 222§ 1. This federal law regulates the publication of information of general interest and access to information in the field of activity or business
1. of the organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities,
2. the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law,
3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration,
4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and
5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met.		Yes, if they are entrusted with the mangement of business of the federal administration or the state administration.
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Private bodies that receive public funding. Specify if law states a certain threshold of public funding. 20
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 Other bodies
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Other bodies such as political bodies,Trades Unions etc. If there are any extra bodies 3 points
322§ 1. This federal law regulates the publication of information of general interest and access to information in the field of activity or business
1. of the organs of the Federation, the Länder, the municipalities and associations of municipalities,
2. the bodies of the self-governing bodies established by law,
3. the bodies of other legal and natural persons, insofar as they are entrusted with the management of business of the federal administration or the state administration,
4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and
5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met.		It further includes 4. the bodies of foundations, funds and institutions subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, and 5. undertakings subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a Land Court of Audit, provided that, in the case of the participation of the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with other legal entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Audit, there is a shareholding of at least 50% of the shares, share capital or equity or the Federation, the Land or the municipality, alone or jointly with others, is the responsibility of the Court of Audit subject legal entities actually control the company by means of financial or other economic or organizational measures or it is a company of any further level for which the requirements according to this section are met. Therefore 2 extra points.
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1,3Format and posession of documents/information

“official documents/information” means all information recorded in any form, drawn up or received and held by public authorities.		Definition of Information/Documents Is the definition of "information" and/or "documents" in the law broad enough to cover any information in any format ? If yes, the full score is 3 points
If the law [or an established interpretation of the law] excludes any of the following, remove 1 point for each format excluded:
a) Documents (such as Word documents, PDFs)
b) Spreadsheets
c) Databases
d) emails
e) Text messages
f) Audio-visual recordings
g) Photographs
h) Software (source code) 		333Definitions
§ 2. (1) Information within the meaning of this Federal Act is any record serving official or corporate purposes in the sphere of activity of a body, in the area of activity of a foundation, a fund or an institution or in the business area of an undertaking, regardless of the form in which it exists and is available.
(2) Information of general interest within the meaning of this Federal Act is information that concerns or is relevant to a general group of persons, in particular such divisions of business, rules of procedure, activity reports, official gazettes, official statistics, studies, expert opinions, surveys, statements and contracts prepared or commissioned by bodies obliged to provide information. Contracts for a value (Sections 13 to 18 of the Federal Procurement Act 2018 – BVergG 2018, Federal Law Gazette I No. 65/2018) of at least EUR 100,000 are in any case of general interest.		The definition of information is broad enough to cover all the mentioned formats.
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Information/Documents held by the public body: Is the definition of "information" and/or "documents" in the law broad enough to cover any information in any format held by the public body to which the request has been sent? If fully yes, the score is 2 points, if only partially, 1 point.
233Definitions
§ 2. (1) Information within the meaning of this Federal Act is any record serving official or corporate purposes in the sphere of activity of a body, in the area of activity of a foundation, a fund or an institution or in the business area of an undertaking, regardless of the form in which it exists and is available.
(2) Information of general interest within the meaning of this Federal Act is information that concerns or is relevant to a general group of persons, in particular such divisions of business, rules of procedure, activity reports, official gazettes, official statistics, studies, expert opinions, surveys, statements and contracts prepared or commissioned by bodies obliged to provide information. Contracts for a value (Sections 13 to 18 of the Federal Procurement Act 2018 – BVergG 2018, Federal Law Gazette I No. 65/2018) of at least EUR 100,000 are in any case of general interest.		The definition of information is broad enough to cover any information or document held by a public authority.
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TOTAL45-1837-136
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Indicator #Tromsø Article 2 – The right to submit requestsWho may submit requests Max PositiveMax NegativeScore +ve Score -veTotal score section Comments / Justification
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2,1Right of access
Each Party shall guarantee the right of everyone, without discrimination on any ground, to have access, on request, to official documents held by public authorities.		All natural persons (15) or only natural persons who are citizens or residents (5 point)

151515Explanatory notes of the law: Bearer of this right shall be both natural and legal persons. https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVII/I/2238/fname_1587266.pdf
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All legal persons (10 points) or only legal persons registered in the country (2 point)101010
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TOTAL25025025
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Indicator #Tromsø Article 3 – Possible limitations Exceptions, and the Harm and Public interest testsMax Score Max NegativeScore +ve Score -veTotal score section Article of national law Comments / Justification
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3,1Expiry of exception
The Parties shall consider setting time limits beyond which the limitations … would no longer apply

Law clearly states that requester must be informed when an exception will expire (4 points).40Not mentioned in law
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Law states that information must be proactively released to the requester when an exception expires (2 points)20
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3,2Exceptions and Public interest test

Each Party may limit the right of access to official documents. Limitations shall be set down precisely in law, be necessary in a democratic society and be proportionate to the aim of protecting:
a) national security, defence and international relations;
b) public safety;
c) the prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal activities;
d) disciplinary investigations;
e) inspection, control and supervision by public authorities;
f) privacy and other legitimate private interests;
g) commercial and other economic interests;
h) the economic, monetary and exchange rate policies of the State;
i) the equality of parties in court proceedings and the effective administration of justice;
j) environment;
k) the deliberations within or between public authorities concerning the examination of a matter;

Insert full clause in "Article of national law"Data gathering§ 6. (1) Information shall not be intended for publication and shall not be made available upon request, insofar as and for as long as this
1. for compelling integration or foreign policy reasons, in particular also in accordance with directly applicable provisions of European Union law or for compliance with obligations under international law,
2. in the interest of national security,
3. in the interest of comprehensive national defence,
4. in the interest of maintaining public order and security,
5. in the interest of the unimpaired preparation of a decision, in the sense of the unimpaired lawful formation of the will and its immediate preparation, in particular
a) of acts of the Federal President, the Federal Government, the Federal Ministers, the State Secretaries, the Land Government, individual members of the same and the Land Governor, the district administrative authorities, the bodies of the municipality and the bodies of the other self-governing bodies,
b) in the interest of administrative or judicial proceedings, an examination or other action of the institution, as well as for the protection of the legal confidentiality of negotiations, deliberations and votes,
6. to avert significant economic or financial damage to the organs, regional authorities or other self-governing bodies, or
7. in the overriding legitimate interest of another, in particular
a) to safeguard the right to the protection of personal data,
b) for the protection of professional, business or trade secrets,
c) to safeguard banking secrecy (Section 38 of the Banking Act, Federal Law Gazette No. 532/1993),
d) for the protection of editorial secrecy (§ 31 of the Media Act, Federal Law Gazette No. 314/1981) or
e) to protect the intellectual property rights of data subjects,
is necessary and proportionate and does not provide otherwise by law. To this end, all relevant interests, on the one hand in the provision of information, including in particular in the exercise of freedom of expression, and on the other hand in the secrecy of the information, must be weighed against each other.
(2) If the requirements of subsection (1) apply only to a part of the information, only this information shall be subject to secrecy.
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3,2a) National security and defence - note that if these are two separate exceptions, please combine into one answer
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Does the law mention the national security exception? 111§ 6. (1) Information shall not be intended for publication and shall not be made available upon request, insofar as and for as long as this

2. in the interest of national security,
States "in the interest of national secuirty" No mention of public interest or harm test.
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Harm test? If yes, 1 point 10
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Public interest? If yes, 1 point10
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a+) International relations
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Does the law mention the international relations exception? 111§ 6. (1) Information shall not be intended for publication and shall not be made available upon request, insofar as and for as long as this
1. for compelling integration or foreign policy reasons, in particular also in accordance with directly applicable provisions of European Union law or for compliance with obligations under international law,
Refers explicitly to European Union law and customary international law as an exception.
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Harm test? 10
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Public interest? 10
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b) Public safety
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Does the law mention the public safety exception? 111§ 6. (1) Information shall not be intended for publication and shall not be made available upon request, insofar as and for as long as this
4. in the interest of maintaining public order and security,
States public safety and order generally.
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Harm test? 10
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Public interest? 10
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b+) Public Health
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Does the law mention the public health exception? 10Not mentioned. Might be comprised in § 6 (1) 4, public safety and order, but no expliclit mention of public health.
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Harm test? 10
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Public interest? 10
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c) the prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal activities;
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Does the law mention the prevention, investigation and prosecution of criminal activities exception? 10Not mentioned. Might be comprised in § 6 (1) 5 b, regarding the prosecution or investigation for decisions of a Court in general, but no explicit mention of criminal investigations.
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Harm test? 10
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Public interest? 10
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d) disciplinary investigations;
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Does the law mention a disciplinary investigations exception? 10Not mentioned. Might be comprised in § 6 (1) 5 b, regarding the prosecution or investigation for decisions of a Court in general, but no explicit mention of disciplinary investigations.
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Harm test? 10
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Public interest? 10
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e) inspection, control and supervision by public authorities;
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Does the law mention a inspection, control and supervision by public authorities exception? 111§ 6. (1) Information shall not be intended for publication and shall not be made available upon request, insofar as and for as long as this
5. in the interest of the unimpaired preparation of a decision, in the sense of the unimpaired lawful formation of the will and its immediate preparation, in particular
a) of acts of the Federal President, the Federal Government, the Federal Ministers, the State Secretaries, the Land Government, individual members of the same and the Land Governor, the district administrative authorities, the bodies of the municipality and the bodies of the other self-governing bodies,
b) in the interest of administrative or judicial proceedings, an examination or other action of the institution, as well as for the protection of the legal confidentiality of negotiations, deliberations and votes,
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Harm test? 10
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Public interest? 10
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f) privacy and other legitimate private interests;
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Does the law mention a privacy and private interests exception?
111§ 6. (1) Information shall not be intended for publication and shall not be made available upon request, insofar as and for as long as this is 7. in the overriding legitimate interest of another, in particular
a) to safeguard the right to the protection of personal data,
b) for the protection of professional, business or trade secrets,
c) to safeguard banking secrecy (Section 38 of the Banking Act, Federal Law Gazette No. 532/1993),
d) for the protection of editorial secrecy (§ 31 of the Media Act, Federal Law Gazette No. 314/1981) or
e) to protect the intellectual property rights of data subjects,
is necessary and proportionate and does not provide otherwise by law. To this end, all relevant interests, on the one hand in the provision of information, including in particular in the exercise of freedom of expression, and on the other hand in the secrecy of the information, must be weighed against each other.
(2) If the requirements of subsection (1) apply only to a part of the information, only this information shall be subject to secrecy.		It refers to confidentiality regarding the profession and of company information as well as the fundamental right to privacy and the protection of it.
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Harm test? 10
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Public interest? 10
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g) commercial and other economic interests
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Does the law mention a commercial and economic interests exception? 111§ 6. (1) Information shall not be intended for publication and shall not be made available upon request, insofar as and for as long as this
6. to avert significant economic or financial damage to the organs, regional authorities or other self-governing bodies, or