The religious interests of the citizens of our country represent a natural basis for the activities of the Office of Culture - the fundamental rights of freedom of belief and conscience in individual terms as well as the religious freedom of religious communities are essential elements in a free constitutional state. Conceptually, cultus, from the Latin word "cultus", means, among other things, "practice of religion"; From a state perspective, the term cult refers to the legal status of churches and religious societies and their external conditions. According to Article 10 Paragraph 1 Number …

Federal ChancellerySection II Integration, Office of Culture and Minorities (Federal Chancellery division)

General information about the Constitutional Service and its diverse tasks The Constitutional Service is set up as a section in the Federal Chancellery. Its internal organization reflects the spheres of activity of the federal ministries, the federal government's relations with the states and Austria's relations with the European Union. The Constitutional Service is responsible for the legislative preparation of laws in numerous important areas, such as federal constitutional law and administrative procedural law. In addition, the Constitutional Service is responsible for preparing the Feder…

There are around 1,125,000 families with children in Austria. The state's task is to create the best possible conditions for these families. In this area you will find important information about all phases of the child's life. Family allowance: Family allowance is one of the most important instruments for supporting families in Austria. Parents thus receive compensation for costs that they incur as a result of their obligation to support their children. Childcare allowance: Childcare allowance after the birth of a child makes an important contribution to improving the compatibility of famil…

“Youth” covers a variety of topics and tasks in which the Family and Youth Section is active. Youth policyThe task of youth policy is to help shape the living situation of young people. This requires appropriate framework conditions and structures. Youth workExtracurricular child and youth work in Austria encompasses a diverse range of structures, measures and offers. Austrian Youth StrategyThe Austrian Youth Strategy is a broad process to strengthen and further develop youth policy in Austria. A key characteristic is the active involvement of young people. Federal youth fundingThe financi…

The federal government is working on the recovery for Austria. But recovery does not happen by itself, but rather when we all pull together. It's not just about the economic recovery for our country, but also about the recovery of togetherness, trust in each other and confidence in our common future. Everywhere in Austria - in healthcare, in civil society, in education, research, art or business - there are people who make an important contribution to our society with their ideas, their commitment and their commitment. The recovery is possible if we all work at it! Ivona Brandic studied busi…

Everything about current European political issues, projects and events Information trip by 23 Austrian European local councilors to Brussels - visits to the Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU and to 3 European institutions - meetings with, among others, EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner and 4 Austrian members of the European Parliament Information in the area of (European) political education: “Political Education Action Days” from April 23rd to May 9th and the “We are Europe” prize for outstanding theses About this year's Europe Day: Numerous events, projects and initiatives throu…

The Bioethics Commission is an advisory body for the Federal Chancellor on bioethics with an office in the Federal Chancellery. She advises the Federal Chancellor on all social, scientific and legal questions from an ethical perspective that arise in connection with the development of science in the field of human medicine and human biology. This includes in particular She is independent in the exercise of her consulting work. The Bioethics Commission was set up at the Federal Chancellery on June 29, 2001. Federal Chancellery Office of the Bioethics Commission 1010 Vienna, Ballhausplatz 2E…

The population's trust in an integrity-based administration is an indispensable pillar for the stability of the democratic, constitutional order in Austria. Therefore, compliance with norms (such as Union law, national laws and regulations) and values ​​(i.e. ethical, honest behavior) is a central concern, at all hierarchical levels without exception. This applies both within the office and in external relationships, for example with citizens or suppliers. The Federal Chancellery's compliance strategy follows, among other things, the recommendations of the Court of Auditors. Compliance Depar…

The EU Cybersecurity Act defines cybersecurity as all activities necessary to protect network and information systems, the users of such systems and other persons affected by cyber threats. In the age of digitalization, our society is more connected than ever. Advances in digital technology have changed our daily lives as well as our everyday work and business lives. Citizens depend on digital services, as do companies and government institutions that depend on digital networks and infrastructures to carry out their core tasks. But it is precisely with this extensive networking and the increa…

Research, technology and innovation (RTI) are at the center of an Austrian location policy that is future-oriented and designed to be competition and innovation-friendly. Austria as a location for innovation has shown dynamic development in recent years. The Federal Government's RTI Strategy 2030 sets out the main goals and areas of action for RTI policy for the coming decade. The fields of action intertwine and work together. Individual fields of action therefore also contribute to the achievement of several goals. The goals and areas of action of the RTI strategy are operationalized throu…

Austria is committed to implementing the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2030 Agenda offers an internationally binding framework in which all dimensions of sustainable development are systematically taken into account and thus a good life is to be guaranteed for everyone in accordance with the principle of "Leaving no one behind". As part of the SDG communication workshop "Telling the future - making transformation visible", around 60 participants from media, politics, administration, science, youth, civil society and business discussed ne…

Information about the National Security Council in Austria and measures at national, European and international levels as part of the Austrian security strategy Austrian security policy includes all measures at national, European and international levels The National Security Council is the federal government's central advisory body in matters of foreign, security and defense policy. Mag.aJutta Edthofer, MBAFederal Chancellery, Department IV/6Ballhausplatz 2, 1010 ViennaE-Mail:[email protected]

These pages provide, among other things, information about the Austrian legal situation, international conventions for the protection of national minorities and the promotion of ethnic groups. The following 6 autochthonous ethnic groups exist in Austria: According to Section 1 Paragraph 2 of the National Minorities Act, ethnic groups are to be understood as “the groups of Austrian citizens living and domiciled in parts of the federal territory with a non-German mother tongue and their own ethnicity”. As Austrian citizens, members of the ethnic group have the same rights as any other Austria…

The Federal President may, at the suggestion of the Federal Government or at the request of the member of the Federal Government responsible for the matter, The Federal President can, at the suggestion of a member of the Federal Government, award professional titles to people who have made special contributions to the Republic of Austria over many years of practicing their profession. The Federal Chancellor, as well as the member of the Federal Government within whose sphere of activity the achievement to be recognized falls, can award the Federal Decoration of Honor in recognition of specia…

The fight against anti-Semitism is a central concern of the Austrian federal government. Against the background of the darkest chapter in Austrian history, the inexcusable atrocities and inhumane crimes of the Nazi terror regime, Austria has a special historical responsibility towards the Jews. Anti-Semitism has many faces today and has increased in recent years in Austria, Europe and worldwide. In 2024, the anti-Semitism reporting center of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG) documented a total of 1,520 anti-Semitic incidents and an increase of 32.5 percent compared to the previous year 202…

In order to dedicate a worthy place of remembrance to the Austrian victims of the Shoah, the Austrian federal government decided in the commemorative year of 2018 to take up and implement the plans for a Shoah Name Wall memorial for the Jewish Holocaust survivor Kurt Yakov Tutter. As a justification for this decision, the Council of Ministers stated that it wanted to follow up the recognition of Austria's shared responsibility for the expulsion and murder of Jews under National Socialist rule with concrete action: "(...) Although a place of remembrance for the deceased is of great importance,…

The deliberate distribution of false or misleading information in the form of targeted campaigns not only undermines citizens' trust in the media, science and government institutions. Targeted disinformation – for example before elections or in connection with wars and conflicts – fuels fears and increases prejudices and insecurities in parts of the population. It can also be used to significantly influence elections and political decision-making processes. Disinformation and conspiracy theories are not a new phenomenon, but these days they are spreading very quickly across social media and on…

The introduction of freedom of information means creating a new understanding of the modern state and significantly increasing the transparency of administration. After several years of negotiations and broad involvement, the constitutional official secrecy will be lifted on September 1, 2025 and a general freedom of information will be introduced by creating a proactive publication obligation and a fundamental right to access to information. The new freedom of information consists of 2 pillars: On the one hand, information of general interest is proactively published in the information regi…

The new Federal Crisis Security Act (B-KSG) came into force in Austria on January 1, 2024. With this, the state-wide coordination of national security and state crisis management was optimized and further developed with new structures in order to meet the challenges of modern crises. At the head of these national structures is the government advisor for national security, state resilience, comprehensive national defense, crisis preparedness and crisis management. The government advisor, his deputy and the crisis security office assigned to them are located in the Federal Chancellery and provi…