This page provides information on the national frameworks to address hate crime in Austria. The information provided here should be viewed alongside data presented on Austria's hate crime report page.

Hate crime recording and data collection

In November 2020, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) introduced a new electronic recording and data collection mechanism. This mechanism is complemented by an internal police decree, which provides a monitoring definition of hate crime and quality management standards. Together, they enable potential hate crimes to be flagged by recording the following bias motivations and subcategories: (1) age, handicap, (2) gender, (3) skin colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, (4) sexual orientation, (5) social status, and (6) world view. A mnemonic acronym is used to check for five bias indicators and identify potential hate crimes. Regarding gender, a new sub-category was included since 1 January 2024: “Trans” for transgender victims who have been possibly targeted because of their gender identity, next to “Woman”, “Man”, “Inter/Divers” and “Other”.
    
The introduction of the new recording system was accompanied by large-scale training efforts for police officers. Those trained to train their peers also serve as focal points for civil society and victim support organizations. The focal points also receive a regular newsletter providing updates on recent local, regional and national hate crime data, new developments and legal advice on each protected group in order to improve the quality of data. 
    
In addition, the MoI co-operates closely with the Federal Criminal Intelligence Agency to review the data and provide feedback to those officers responsible for individual cases when corrections are needed. The MoI hate crime factsheet is available in 12 languages. In 2021, the MoI, together with the Institute for the Sociology of Law and Criminology (Institut für Rechts- und Kriminalsoziologie, IRKS), conducted a representative survey on unreported hate crime victimization cases. The results of the survey were included in the 2021 Pilot Report "Hate Crime in Austria", which maps the improvements in hate crime recording and data collection in Austria since 2019.
    
The interfaces of the MoI/police and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) databases are synchronized so that flagged hate crime data are also visible to prosecutors once the investigation reports are sent. The MoJ and MoI have further implemented an "identifier" for hate crimes ("VM" for Vorurteilsmotiv) in the police database (PAD) and in the judicial database (VJ and ELiAs) to enable the flagging of bias motivation. PAD is synchronized with VJ and ELiAs, so the identifier is automatically transferred from one database to another. Prosecutors and the court can also carry out independent checks for bias motivation and initiate entries in the judicial files. This facilitates a statistical evaluation of hate crimes by bias motivation. However, while in PAD the bias motivations are broken down by categories such as age, gender, social status, etc., the corresponding interface in VJ and ELiAs only transfers the identifier "VM", but not a particular bias motivation. Since 12 April 2024, new subdivided identifiers for bias motives (e.g. by gender, age, disability, etc.), which correspond to those in the police database (PAD), are also available in the judicial databases.      

Since 8 April 2025 the transfer of the identifiers set by police officers in the police database (PAD) to the judicial databases VJ and EliAs is carried out automatically. Accompanying these technical changes, a new decree was issued to the judicial authorities on 9 May 2025, which also contains information on the background, legal basis, technical steps and training opportunities in relation to (the recording of) bias-motivated offences and is specifically dedicated to the new categories of bias motives, including possible practical examples. Setting or review of the respective identifier is now also mandatory for the judicial decision-making bodies.     
    
Every prosecutor and judge should use the identifier "VM" when registering an offence with bias motivation. The data warehouse regularly generates reports and special evaluations based on the available raw data, if required. The accompanying introductory decree regarding the identifier "VM" in the MoJ's judicial database was issued for the public prosecution and courts in March 2021. Aggregated statistics are accessible to judicial administration. If another authority requires access to the data and there is a legal basis for this demand, access can be granted. The access can be restricted, and the raw data are generally not publicly accessible, although statistics can be made available upon request.

Hate crime victim support

Austria provides specialized support to victims of hate crime. Some victims are automatically recognized as particularly vulnerable, including those whose bodily integrity and personal autonomy were violated, victims of domestic violence and minors. Victims of hate crime do not belong to this category; however, they are granted access to legal and psychosocial aid.

The Federal Ministry of Justice has currently contracted 47 victim support organizations to provide assistance in legal proceedings. This ensures that eligible victims are provided with psychosocial and legal support services throughout Austria. The association Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit (ZARA), which specializes in supporting victims of online hate speech, is one of these victim support institutions. A total of 11,959 people were assisted in 2024.

Access to victim support services in Austria is available through multiple channels. Support services are partly financed by the state, and providers co-operate with state structures in a number of areas. Some support service providers receive additional funding through donations, and rely on volunteers. The Federal Ministry of Justice (FMJ) can enter into agreements with established, suitable organizations to help fund their support to victims during criminal proceedings. Services offered include psychosocial and legal support, provided free of charge.

The civil society organization (CSO) Weisser Ring Austria plays a key role by providing general support to all victims of crime, including those not covered by specialized victim support organizations. Weisser Ring operates an emergency helpline for victims on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Several CSOs specifically assist hate crime victims, including the Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit (ZARA) CSO, and form part of national CSO networks.

Austria has a mandatory and formalized individual needs assessment (INA) procedure for hate crime victims. The INA identifies whether hate crime victims require enhanced protection based on their particular vulnerabilities, including age, emotional and physical well-being, and the circumstances of the crime. The results of the INA are not binding for the prosecution or the court and in cases of doubt – such as when new facts arise – the need for protection can be re-examined and a different decision reached. If capacity allows, the victims of all crimes, including hate crimes, have the right to be interviewed by an official of the same sex and to decline providing specific details of the crime. They also have the right to exclude the public from their main hearing, be informed about the release or escape of the perpetrator from custody, or consult a person of trust when being interviewed.

Currently, there is no formal system for referring hate crime victims to local authorities, CSOs, victim support services or national equality bodies. However, since an amendment to the Criminal Procedural Code in 2025, victims have the right to request the transfer of their personal data to a CSO of their choice, insofar as this is necessary for the purpose of contacting and advising on potential victims’ rights claims. Upon the victim's request, free-of-charge psychosocial and legal support may be granted. The costs are initially borne by the respective victim support organization and later refunded by the FMJ.

According to procedural laws, all victims have the right to be informed of the progress of the proceedings and may participate as a private party in the proceedings to seek compensation for the damage or injury suffered. In addition, it is possible to assert further claims for damages in civil court proceedings. Under certain conditions, this also applies to compensation for psychological damage. These options are available to all victims, including victims of hate crimes.

Hate crime capacity building

Police officers receive training on hate crimes via a three-module e-learning course delivered through the e-Campus of the Police Training Academy (Sicherheitsakademie, SIAK). By the end of 2024, 29,000 police officers had completed the course, and over 200 officers from the Federal Provinces were trained to deliver training events to front line officers and to serve as contact points for civil society organizations (CSOs) and victim support organizations. These so-called multipliers receive newsletters on hate crime several times a year, along with ongoing practical content on police information channels.  

The Federal Ministry of Justice (FMJ) is responsible for organizing and co-ordinating the education and training of all professional groups working at the courts, the public prosecutor's office, the data protection authority and the central office. In addition to the FMJ, the Presidents of the four Higher Regional Courts, the Senior Public Prosecutors' Offices, the Supreme Court, as well as the Association of Judges and the Association of Public Prosecutors organize training and further educational events.

Specific bias-motivated offences are covered by the compulsory initial training programme for trainee judges. The presidents of the four Higher Regional Courts are in charge of the implementation of the curriculum.

All future judges and public prosecutors undergo compulsory training in criminal law on victims' rights during theoretical courses for judicial trainees, as provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure. Moreover, they learn about the sensitive treatment of victims during a compulsory two-week assignment to a victim protection institution (e.g., the Weisser Ring CSO and women's shelters).

An e-learning course on the Systematic Investigation and Recording of Prejudice-Related Crimes is available to justice system employees and addresses the definition and impact of hate crimes. Designed by the Ministry of Interior, the course takes about 20 minutes to complete and is reviewed regularly to ensure it is up-to-date and relevant.

Further training for judges and public prosecutors, seminars and conferences on the topics of racism and hate crimes is offered on an ongoing basis. In recent years, the focus has increasingly shifted to hate crimes on the Internet, including seminars on topics such as "Cybercrime", "Personal Rights on the Internet" and "Social Media - a Threat to the Rule of Law and Democracy?".

In addition, Austrian criminal justice system employees attend specialized seminars, such as annual events hosted by the criminal law section or the juvenile criminal law section of the Association of Judges, the practitioners' seminar on criminal law, the biennial seminar on "Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure", and the Ottenstein criminal law seminar. In 2023, a one-day event was introduced (and targeted in particular at court staff) on "Place of Crime - Place of Remembrance - Place of Learning: Excursion to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial", which also took place in 2024. Additionally, the two-day seminar “Judicial and Contemporary History” with excursions to the memorial Castle Hartheim and the Concentration Camp Memorials in Mauthausen and Gusen was organized in October 2024. Numerous other trainings are offered on the subject of "diversity", including “Diversity Competence in Leadership Positions", the seminar "Dealing with Diversity (Anti-racism)" and the seminar “Everyone is Equal, Everyone is Different – Diversity and Inclusion".

These training events and seminars are supplemented by international events (mostly in English), including on "Online hate speech", "Aspects that contribute to hate crime (EJTN)" and "Antisemitism and Hate Crimes (EJTN)", “Webinar Cultural Diversity in the courtroom (EJTN)” and “Anti-Discrimination Law (ERA)".