© Österreichischer Behindertenrat
Which everyday transactions are covered
The ministry lists products such as payment terminals, cash machines, computers, smartphones and e-readers, alongside services including electronic commerce, consumer banking and specified passenger-transport services. The requirements concern information as well as operation: a person must be able to understand a service and use its relevant interfaces. For online commerce, that includes identification and payment functions. The law therefore addresses parts of the route from choosing a product to completing a transaction, rather than simply the appearance of a homepage. [2][1]
The boundaries of the new duties
The BaFG does not make every website or every physical premises subject to the same requirements. Its defined scope matters, as do exceptions for fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden. Microenterprises providing services are exempt: they must employ fewer than ten people and meet the statutory turnover or balance-sheet threshold of €2 million. Different provisions apply to microenterprises handling products. These distinctions mean that a small service provider’s exemption cannot simply be transferred to every business selling a covered product. [1][2]
Enforcement and transition
The Sozialministeriumservice is the market-surveillance authority, with the central unit located in Upper Austria. The ministry describes corrective measures, sales prohibitions and administrative penalties among its enforcement tools. Transitional rules also matter. Existing service contracts may continue unchanged until expiry, but no longer than five years after 28 June 2025; other provisions address previously used products and self-service terminals. The commencement date therefore did not mean that every older terminal had to be replaced that morning. Different transition rules must be checked separately. [1][2]
The advocates’ implementation test
At a conference on 25 September 2025, the Österreichischer Behindertenrat brought together participants to discuss the law’s coverage, enforcement and omissions. President Klaus Widl described it as a first step while stressing that comprehensive accessibility required further work. This connects the legal text with a concrete user concern: a nominally covered service still has to work in practice, and barriers outside the law’s scope remain relevant. The law’s start and the later conference are separate dated events; neither establishes that Austria’s digital services have become universally accessible. [1]