EAA enforcement in Austria: BaFG fines, complaints and first-year numbers

Which law applies

The BaFG was passed in 2023 and applies to consumer services, including online shops, from 28 June 2025. Section 14 sets the duty to offer only services that meet the requirements.

The Directive exempts microenterprises that provide services: fewer than 10 staff and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of EUR 2 million or less (Article 4(5)). Both conditions have to hold. Everyone above that line who sells to consumers online is in scope from 28 June 2025.

The Act itself describes outcomes (perceivable, operable, understandable, robust) rather than naming WCAG. In practice authorities and courts measure websites against the harmonised European standard EN 301 549, whose web chapter in version 3.2.1 maps to WCAG 2.1 level AA. Working to WCAG 2.2 AA covers those criteria plus the six new level A and AA criteria WCAG 2.2 added.

Who enforces it for online shops

The Sozialministeriumservice is the market surveillance authority. It can require a company to fix defects within a deadline, restrict the service, and impose administrative fines. Appeals against its decisions go to the Federal Administrative Court.

How a complaint reaches a shop

• Complaint to the authority. Consumers and organisations such as the consumer association VKI, the disability council, the Chamber of Labour and the Chamber of Commerce can report deficiencies to the Sozialministeriumservice (complaint process guide).
• Conciliation first, then court. A person who wants to claim damages for discrimination must first go through a free conciliation procedure (Schlichtungsverfahren) at the Sozialministeriumservice before going to court (guide).
• Competitors. Austrian competition law allows cease and desist claims in principle, but we found no accessibility Abmahnung wave in Austria as of 1 October 2026.

Fines and other sanctions

Section 36 BaFG sets three fine levels:

• Up to EUR 80,000 for offering a non-compliant service or placing a non-compliant product on the market. For small and medium businesses the cap is EUR 50,000.
• Up to EUR 40,000 (EUR 25,000 for SMEs) for conformity assessment, declaration and documentation failures.
• Up to EUR 16,000 (EUR 10,000 for SMEs) for other duties, such as cooperating with the authority.

The amount depends on the scope of the breach, the number of services and people affected, and repeat offences. Fines go to a support fund for people with disabilities.

What has actually happened so far

The Austrian disability council published first-year figures from the social ministry on 24 June 2026 (Behindertenrat):

• 84 proceedings opened since 28 June 2025, 74 still pending.
• 36 opened by the authority on its own initiative, 48 tips from the public reviewed.
• 53 notifications from companies reporting their own non-conformities.
• 22 pending proceedings in banking, the most scrutinised sector.
• No administrative fines imposed in the first year. The ministry describes its approach as "Beraten vor Strafen", advise before punishing.

What to do if you sell into Austria

If you sell to consumers in Austria and you are above the microenterprise line, the defensible position is the same as everywhere else in the EU: fix the barriers in your own code, keep dated evidence of what you tested and changed, and publish the accessibility information the law asks for.

1. Scan your key templates (home, category, product, cart, checkout, account) for the failures a script can verify. Our free scan does this for up to 10 pages.
2. Test the purchase journey with a keyboard only and with a screen reader. A script cannot judge whether alt text makes sense or a checkout error is announced.
3. Fix the issues in the theme or codebase, not with an overlay widget. Overlays vs code fixes explains why.
4. Publish the service information the Act requires, in an accessible format. See what an EAA accessibility statement must contain.
5. Re-test after every redesign, theme update or new app, and keep the reports.

A Fix Sprint covers steps 1, 2, 3 and 5 for a fixed price. None of this is legal advice, and no audit can promise that a regulator or court will agree with it. It is the work that makes a complaint easy to answer.