Freedom of information
With the amendment of the Federal Constitutional Act and the creation of the Freedom of Information Act, official secrecy will be abolished on 1 September 2025. The new freedom of information consists, on the one hand, of a proactive publication obligation for information of general interest and, on the other hand, the fundamental right of access to government and certain corporate information upon request.
The Federal Office of Consumer Health (BAVG) is the competent national authority responsible for carrying out the tasks listed in Section 6c (1) of the Health and Food Safety Act.
Information from the BAVG that is of general interest (proactive information) within the meaning of § 2 para. 2 in conjunction with § 4 para. 1 of the Freedom of Information Act as amended (IFG)) can be accessed below or via www.data.gv.at, provided it is not subject to confidentiality pursuant to § 6 IFG.
Information on request within the meaning of § 2 para. 1 in conjunction with § 7 IFG Freedom of Information Act as amended should preferably be submitted via the application for access to information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act below. The application must be as precise as possible and refer explicitly to the IFG. The information requested must already exist and be available at the BAVG.
The information requested must be provided to the applicant in the desired form within four weeks of the application being submitted by the BAVG (§8 Para. 1 IFG), provided there are no confidentiality obligations pursuant to §6 IFG.
However, if the provision of information infringes the rights of third parties, the third party must be heard by the BAVG during the course of the procedure and the deadline for providing information is extended by a further four weeks and is therefore eight weeks. The deadline for providing information is also extended to eight weeks if there are special reasons that make it impossible to provide information within four weeks (Section 8 (2) IFG). The BAVG will notify the applicant in writing in advance.
In the event that the BAVG is unable to provide the information within the four or eight-week period (Section 11 IFG), the applicant will be notified in writing. If the issuance of a negative decision is desired, a corresponding written application must be submitted to the BAVG at the e-mail address IFG-Anfrage@bavg.gv.at. The negative decision will then be issued to the applicant within two months of the application being submitted.
However, if a contingent application for a decision in the event that the information is not issued has already been submitted to the BAVG in the course of the original application, the negative decision will be issued to the applicant without further application within two months of written notification that the information will not be issued.