eGovernment in Austria
January 2015
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eGovernment Legal Framework
Main legal texts impacting on the development of eGovernment
eGovernment Legislation
eGovernment Act
(2004)
The eGovernment Act forms the basis of Austrian
laws on eGovernment. It was enacted on 1 March
2004 and the first amendment entered into force
on 1 January 2008. This law serves as the legal
basis for eGovernment services. It enables closer cooperation between all authorities that
provide eGovernment services and gives them the opportunity to networking jointly. Many
mechanisms such as the citizen card, sector-specific personal identifiers and electronic
delivery of documents are also able to be put to use in the private sector.
The most important principles of eGovernment law are:
Freedom of choice for users in selecting the means of communication when contacting
public authorities.
Security and improved legal protection provided by appropriate technical measures such
as the citizen card.
Unhindered access for people with special needs to public administration information
and services.
The amendment of the eGovernment Act in 2008 was complemented by a number of
essential regulations, each of which defines in more detail some provisions of the Act and
facilitates its implementation.
Since the last amendment (30 December 2010) there is an obligation for public authorities
to query directory services to verify the accuracy of the data used in an official procedure.
The pre-condition is either the approval of the applicant or a legal authorisation for the
official data inquiry (§ 17 Abs. 2). The implementation of all technical and organisational
obligations has to be fulfilled by all official authorities and directory services until 31
December 2012.
Source PIN Register Regulation
The sourcePIN Register Regulation specifies the responsibilities of the sourcePIN Register
Authority which are necessary for the implementation of the citizen card concept and the
cooperation with its service providers. The main provisions deal with the following:
The process to create identity links, including setting down the duties of citizen card
registration agents, the validation of identity and the identity link dataset. The
regulation also lays down that a compliant citizen card environment needs to support an
interface that can bind the citizen card to the application. This interface is defined and
published by the sourcePIN Register Authority.
The transformation of sector-specific personal identifiers (ssPIN) into ssPINs of other
authorities, the creation of ssPINs for specific authorities and for data applications in the
public sector. The ssPIN Register Authority has an interface to create and transform
ssPINs which it makes available to public authorities. This interface is also accessible via
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