Accessible websites in Austria: the Accessibility Act (BaFG) explainedAccessible websites in Austria: the Accessibility Act (BaFG) explained

Since 28 June 2025, Austria's Accessibility Act (Barrierefreiheitsgesetz, BaFG) has applied. It requires many businesses to design their websites, online shops and apps so that people with disabilities can use them without help from others. Here's a compact overview of the key points.

What is behind the Accessibility Act?

With the BaFG, Austria implements the European Accessibility Act (EU Directive 2019/882). Its aim is to make digital products and services accessible to everyone.

The goal: people with disabilities should be able to use websites and digital services just like everyone else.

This no longer applies only to public authorities, which have long been covered by the Web Accessibility Act (Web-Zugänglichkeits-Gesetz), but also to many private-sector businesses.

Since when does the law apply?

The BaFG has applied since 28 June 2025. Since then, new digital offerings covered by the law must meet its requirements. For certain existing products and contracts there are transition periods, in some cases until 2030, but the direction is clear: accessibility is the new standard.

Who exactly is affected?

The law is mainly aimed at businesses that offer digital services or products to consumers. These include, for example:

• websites with booking or purchasing options
• online shops
• apps
• digital services in tourism, retail or the service sector

Important: microenterprises (fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros) that provide services are exempt. The topic is still worthwhile for them, because requirements often arise indirectly, for example through partners, platforms or public-sector clients.

Which content has to be accessible?

The BaFG doesn't just cover the website "as such", but all relevant digital content and functions, for example:

• navigation and page structure
• forms (for bookings or enquiries, for instance)
• images and videos
• buttons and other controls
• documents such as PDFs

In short: everything users interact with.

Which standards apply?

The technical basis is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), internationally recognized guidelines for accessible websites. In practice, the European standard EN 301 549 is used, which refers to WCAG at conformance level AA.

The WCAG are based on four principles:

1. Perceivable: content must be visible or audible, for example through alternative text for images.
2. Operable: the website must also work without a mouse, for example via keyboard.
3. Understandable: content and navigation must be clear and logical.
4. Robust: the website must work with different devices and assistive technologies such as screen readers.

Examples of accessible implementation

What does that mean in practice?

• sufficient color contrast for good readability
• a clear heading structure
• alternative text for images
• forms that are easy to understand and fill in
• videos with subtitles
• no complicated or confusing processes

The goal isn't "perfect technology", but real usability for everyone.

What happens if you don't meet the requirements?

If you ignore the legal requirements, you have to expect consequences:

• complaints from users
• checks by the market surveillance authority (in Austria, the Sozialministeriumservice)
• in the worst case, administrative fines

But even more important: a website that isn't accessible excludes people, and quickly looks unprofessional.

Why accessibility also makes business sense

Beyond the legal obligation, the topic brings clear benefits:

• a larger audience
• better usability for everyone
• better SEO results
• more enquiries and bookings
• stronger trust in your brand

So accessibility isn't just an obligation, it's also a real competitive advantage.

Common misconceptions

Many businesses think:

• "This doesn't apply to us anyway."
• "This is only relevant for big companies."
• "This is extremely expensive and complicated."

In reality: the sooner you deal with it, the easier and cheaper it is to implement. Accessibility costs the most when it has to be retrofitted into a finished website.

Conclusion: act now instead of reacting later

The BaFG isn't a short-term trend, but a long-term development. In future, websites will be measured by how accessible and user-friendly they are.

If you start now, you'll save yourself stress later and offer all your users a better experience at the same time.

Want to know whether your website already meets the requirements or where you should make improvements? Get in touch with us. We'll help you make your website accessible, easy to understand and future-proof.

This article provides a general overview and does not replace legal advice in individual cases.