Mechanisms and actors

The Family and Youth Section (Sektion Familie und Jugend) of the Federal Chancellery is responsible for coordinating youth policy, while the Länder are responsible for youth work. The Austrian Youth Strategy, coordinated by the Federal Chancellery, aims to improve interministerial cooperation. Its main objective is to raise the importance of youth policy in all ministries by integrating it into their decision-making processes (see  Chapter 1.3). Each ministry formulates national Youth Goals (Jugendziele) in line with the strategy's fields of action in order to address the various needs of young people across all sectors.

The Youth Competence Centre (Kompetenzzentrum Jugend) plays a central role in linking the different ministries' approaches and in managing the Austrian Youth Strategy. The Youth Strategy Forum (Forum Jugendstrategie) serves as a platform for stakeholders, including ministries, to exchange ideas. Implementation is effectively coordinated through established structures, with the Federal Chancellery overseeing the process and the Youth Competence Centre managing activities and establishing networks.

The National Working Group on Youth Dialogue and Youth Participation Participation (Nationale Arbeitsgruppe Jugenddialog und Jugendbeteiligung) brings together federal and provincial authorities and other relevant youth policy actors to address the needs of young people across different policy areas and levels of government.

In Austria's federal system, the heads of the provincial youth departments (Landesjugendreferate) are responsible for youth policy and extracurricular youth work in their respective provinces. They have autonomous responsibility for matters not covered by federal legislation, which can lead to legislative differences between the provinces. Annual meetings between the heads of the provincial youth departments and representatives of the Federal Chancellery ensure coordination and cooperation.