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. As of 1 January 2024, a new subcategory, "Trans", was included for transgender victims targeted due their gender identity, in addition to "Woman", "Man", "Inter/Divers" and "Other".

The introduction of the new recording system was accompanied by large-scale hate crime training initiatives for police officers. Police officers trained to instruct their peers on handling hate crime cases also serve as focal points for civil society and victim support organizations. To improve the quality of hate crime data, police focal points regularly receive a newsletter providing updates on recent local, regional and national hate crime data, new developments and legal advice on each protected group. Hate crime statistics collected by the Ministry are published online each year.

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. To enable the flagging of bias motivations, both the MoJ and MoI implemented an identifier for hate crimes ("VM", for Vorurteilsmotiv) in the police database and in the judicial databases. The police database is synchronized with the judicial databases, so that the identifier is automatically transferred from one database to another. Prosecutors and courts can also carry out independent checks for bias motivations and initiate entries in the judicial files, thereby facilitating a statistical evaluation of hate crimes by bias motivation. However, while the bias motivations in the police database are broken down by categories such as age, gender, social status, etc., the corresponding interface in the judicial database only transfer the "VM" identifier, but not a particular bias motivation. As of 12 April 2024, new subdivided identifiers for bias motives were introduced to the judicial databases, corresponding to those in the police database. However, it was initially impossible to automatically transfer the new identifiers from the police database when police reports were transmitted.

As of 8 April 2025, the transfer of all identifiers from the police database to the judicial databases 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. The decree also describes the new bias motive categories in detail and includes practical examples. Judicial decision-making bodies are now also required to set or review the respective identifiers.

The data warehouse regularly generates reports and special evaluations based on the available raw data, if required. An accompanying introductory decree regarding the "VM" identifier 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. By law, some victims are automatically recognized as particularly vulnerable, including those whose bodily integrity and personal autonomy were violated, victims who may have had their sexual integrity and autonomy violated, victims of domestic violence, and minors. Victims of hate crime do not automatically belong to these categories, but may do so if the legal requirements are met. In addition to the victim groups listed above, particular vulnerability within the meaning of the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure is generally determined by the victim's age, emotional and physical well-being, as well as the nature and specific circumstances of the crime. Regardless, victims of hate crimes 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. In 2025, a total of 12,809 people received assistance in legal proceedings, compared to 11,959 in 2024.

Victim support services in Austria are available through multiple channels, and include free-of-charge psychosocial and legal support. These support services are partly financed by the state, with providers co-operating 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 can enter into agreements with established, suitable organizations to help fund their support to victims during criminal proceedings. 

The Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismus-Arbeit (ZARA) association is one of the victim support organizations providing assistance to hate crime victims, and specifically to victims of online hate speech. In 2025, ZARA provided psychosocial and legal support services to 25 victims. ZARA also forms part of national networks of related civil society organizations (CSOs). Meanwhile, the Weisser Ring Austria CSO plays a key role in providing general support to all crime victims, including those not covered by specialized victim support organizations, and operates an emergency helpline for victims on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

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, all crime victims, including hate crime victims, may be interviewed by an official of the same sex and may 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 the 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, if necessary for the purpose of contacting and advising on the rights claims of potential victims. Free-of-charge psychosocial and legal support may also be granted on this basis and upon the victim's request. The costs of such services are initially borne by the respective victim support organization and later refunded by the FMJ. In 2025, the Federal Ministry of Justice spent 14,602,000 EUR on financing psychosocial and legal court assistance, compared to 14,333,000 EUR in 2024 and 11,600,000 EUR in 2023.

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 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). As of 4 March 2026, 30,952 police officers (about 97 per cent) had completed the course, and more than 200 officers from the Federal Provinces were trained to deliver training events to frontline officers and to serve as contact points for civil society organizations (CSOs) and victim support organizations. These hate crime training 'multiplier' receive newsletters on hate crime several times a year, along with ongoing practical content on police information channels.

The Federal Ministry of Justice 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. Training and further educational events are also organized by the Presidents of the four Higher Regional Courts, the Senior Public Prosecutors' Offices, the Supreme Court, the Association of Judges and the Association of Public Prosecutors.

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 implementing the curriculum.

All future judges and public prosecutors undergo compulsory training on victims' rights during theoretical criminal law 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 events, seminars and conferences on the topics of racism and hate crimes are offered to judges and public prosecutors on an ongoing basis. In recent years, the focus has increasingly shifted to hate crimes on the Internet, with seminars held on topics such as "Cybercrime", "Personal Rights on the Internet", "Social Media - a Threat to the Rule of Law and Democracy?", and the "Quality Circle Cybercrime".

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. Between 2023 and 2025, an annual one-day event was introduced on "Place of Crime - Place of Remembrance - Place of Learning: Excursion to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial", and was aimed at court staff in particular. Additionally, in October 2024 and 2025 a two-day seminar on "Judicial and Contemporary History" was organized, and included excursions to the memorial Castle Hartheim and the Concentration Camp Memorials in Mauthausen and Gusen. Numerous other training events are offered on the subject of diversity, including seminars on "Diversity Competence in Leadership Positions", "The Justice System needs Diversity: Diversity and Inclusion for Leadership Positions", "Dealing with Diversity (Anti-racism)", "Everyone is Equal, Everyone is Different – Diversity and Inclusion", and "Anti-racism and Anti-discrimination".