Government presents Digital Austria Act

State Secretary for Digitalisation Florian Tursky and Minister of Health Johannes Rauch presented the Digital Austria Act (DAA) in June 2023, a comprehensive package of 117 measures and 36 digitalisation principles adopted by the Council of Ministers.

Objectives

One of the key objectives of the Digital Austria Act is to make digital solutions more convenient, simple and secure, taking into account data protection and accessibility. Personal documents such as registration information, criminal records or marriage and birth certificates will in future be available free of charge and digitally via the Digital Office. Stamp marks will also be abolished in order to reduce bureaucratic hurdles. In addition, RSa and RSB letters are to be retrieved digitally instead of having to physically collect them from the post. “We no longer understand administration as a public debt, but rather as a “bring-off” debt,” said Florian Tursky.

The Digital Austria Act also focuses on the health sector. The e-Health File (ELGA) will be further developed to facilitate access to health data. ELGA will be transformed from a data collection to a database where findings are collected in a standardised way. This makes it possible to compare laboratory values over longer periods of time. It is also planned that certain health apps are prescribed by doctors and that the resulting data can be stored in ELGA. The 1450 health hotline is also being developed to establish the digital space as the first point of access to healthcare.

The Digital Austria Act also includes a review of the digitalisation fitness of laws, the so-called ‘Digi-Check’. In addition, the Artificial Intelligence Strategy, developed in 2021, will be updated and an AI authority will be established as well as an AI contact point for citizens.

Reactions

The Association of Industrialists (IV) and the Economic Chamber (WKÖ) have responded positively to the Digital Austria Act. The IV praised the wide range of key digitalisation issues covered by the package and stressed the importance of implementing concrete measures and the necessary infrastructure for the technological race. The WKÖ welcomed the package as an important step in fostering the digital transformation and strengthening Austria as an attractive place to innovate by 2030.

The Digital Austria Act marks an important milestone in Austria’s comprehensive digitalisation. The government thus gives a clear impetus to the development of digital services, the strengthening of the health sector and the promotion of innovation in the country. “The DAA is a further step towards our common goal. To preserve and enhance prosperity and security through digitalisation" concluded Tursky.