Official Secrecy is History: Freedom of Information Act Comes into Force

The information register, in which data is proactively published, was announced in the Federal Law Gazette on Monday. Support for those who wish to make inquiries is provided by the Forum for Freedom of Information with an inquiry guide.

The freedom of information affects administrative bodies of the federal, state, and local governments, as well as bodies entrusted with administration. Non-sovereign foundations, funds, institutions, and enterprises subject to the control of the Court of Audit or a state audit office are also included. They generally have four weeks to respond. Reasons for confidentiality include, for example, national security interests and the maintenance of public order, as well as predominantly legitimate interests of others.

Information Register is Ready

Information of general interest must be published proactively - for example, contracts worth at least 100,000 euros. This is to be done via an information register, which can be found at www.data.gv.at and was announced in the Federal Law Gazette on Monday. The obligation to publish in it exists from today, according to the office of Digitalization State Secretary Alexander Pröll (ÖVP). However, there is a transition period until December 1.

"Our claim is: The state is there for the people - not the other way around," emphasized Pröll at the start of the freedom of information. "With clear guidelines and comprehensive information," he wants to support the administration and the municipalities, according to a press release, and the Association of Municipalities has also developed training offers. Municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants - currently there are 259 - must also publish information proactively. To process large amounts of data, make it available in an understandable way, and keep the administrative effort manageable, artificial intelligence is to be applied.

NGO with Inquiry Guide

The Forum for Freedom of Information (FOI) aims to support citizens with inquiries. The NGO has published a guide (https://go.apa.at/Jw8Z18HJ) explaining how an inquiry and a complaint should be structured. Additionally, it is expanding its portal FragDenStaat.at, through which inquiries can be made to government agencies and the responses can be published upon request. The public must "know their rights and be able to exercise them," emphasized FOI board member Markus Hametner. Initial inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act have already been made, such as by the academic project IFG.at. Its founder, lawyer Jurij Toplak, wants to know, for example, the names of all federal judges from the Ministry of Justice.

In important cases, the Forum for Freedom of Information also intends to take the Republic to court and "bring questionable refusals of information to the highest courts to support open administration through new jurisprudence," according to Hametner. Many important questions - such as those concerning the practical application of confidentiality reasons - remain open and will only be clarified through the case law of administrative courts.

Official Secrecy Abolished After 100 Years

Before the Freedom of Information, there was a duty to provide information, although official secrecy, enshrined in the constitution for 100 years, still existed. After long-standing debates, the previous black-green government reached an agreement with the SPÖ on the law, which was passed in early 2024 with the necessary two-thirds majority in the National Council. The more than one-and-a-half-year period until the Freedom of Information came into effect allowed the now information-obligated bodies time for preparations, and numerous other laws were also adjusted.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.