Governance

In Austria, there is no separate governance system for youth volunteering. Youth volunteering takes place within the legal and administrative framework for volunteering in general, which is regulated by the Volunteering Act 2012 (Freiwilligengesetz 2012) and also includes the Voluntary Social Year, the Voluntary Environmental Protection Year, the Memorial Service and the Peace Service and Social Service Abroad, which addresses young people.

Federal and Provincial Support for Volunteering

At the federal level, the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection is responsible for volunteering in Austria. The dedicated online platform ‘Volunteer web’(“Freiwilligenweb”) provides comprehensive information for volunteers as well as for volunteer organisations. In accordance with the Austrian Youth Strategy, which pursues youth participation and engagement as one of its four pillars, the Federal Chancellery supports extracurricular child and youth work, in particular through the Federal Youth Promotion Act (Bundes-Jugendförderungsgesetz). This helps to create a sustainable infrastructure for youth volunteering and youth engagement. In order to also recognise knowledge acquired in a non-formal/informal way, the Federal Chancellery supports with the initiative aufZAQ. Furthermore, the Austrian National Youth Council (BJV) promotes youth volunteering at national level, in particular through its membership in the Voluntary Council.

Although the federal government sets the framework conditions for voluntary engagement, Austria’s provinces have their own structures to accompany and promote voluntary engagement. This primarily concerns financial support, which in many cases makes the existence of voluntary organisations possible in the first place. In support, numerous platforms in the provinces serve as a source of information and exchange. The responsible youth departments of the federal provinces also help to determine and promote voluntary engagement of young people regionally. 

Volunteer Centres - Facilitating Youth Volunteering

At the regional level in Austria, volunteer centres (Freiwilligenzentren) are the main point of contact for volunteering. They provide comprehensive support and coordination for volunteers and organisations, and are usually connected to supporting institutions, municipalities or private associations, while striving to remain impartial information hubs. These centres are united under the umbrella organisation ARGE Freiwilligenzentren (former Interest Group of Volunteer Centres Austria, IGFÖ). The ARGE develops and promotes quality standards and goals for volunteer centres nationwide, representing their interests at a political level (see chapter 2.6 Quality assurance). It is also a member of the Austrian Voluntary Council and the European Volunteer Centre (CEV), ensuring strong national and international networking.

The Voluntary Council's Role

As a cross-sectoral interface between the state and civil society, the Voluntary Council (see below on cross-sectoral cooperation) advises the Ministry of Social Affairs on improving the framework conditions for volunteering throughout Austria.

Collaboration and Promotion of Youth Volunteering at Multiple Levels

Youth volunteering in Austria often takes place in the non-governmental sector. In this context, various organisations and projects offer voluntary activities in the field of emergency aid, culture, environment, religion, social work, politics, education and sports, etc. When looking at the organisational structure of volunteering, one finds that Austrian federalism also runs through the third sector. Thus, volunteer organisations operating nationwide often have extensive freedom of decision-making in the individual provinces or regions, while umbrella organisations formally exercise little influence (e.g. Austrian Red Cross).

In general, the promotion of youth volunteering in Austria is subject to numerous institutions and organisations at federal, provincial, regional and municipal level. For example, the OeAD as the National Agency for Education and Internationalisation promotes youth volunteering in the form of international volunteering, but also local engagement through solidarity projects. In order to obtain information and assistance on all relevant agendas in the field of youth volunteering at home and abroad, the youth information centres in the respective federal provinces, the ‘Youth Portal’ (“Jugendportal”) of the Austrian Federal Youth Network (BÖJI) as well as the nationwide network for open youth work (boja) play a central role.

Cross-sectoral cooperation

The cooperation of the main actors responsible for youth volunteering depicted above is critical to enhance youth volunteering in Austria. In an institutionalised form, this takes place within the Austrian Council for Voluntary Work.

Austrian Council for Voluntary Work (Österreichischer Freiwilligenrat)

The Austrian Voluntary Council, established in 2003 and legally anchored by the Volunteering Act 2012 (Section 5), is the country’s leading cross-sectoral body for volunteering. Based at the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Council acts as an advisory 'institutionalised dialogue forum' between civil society and the government. Its aims are to inform and connect stakeholders, represent interests and continuously improve conditions for volunteers.

The Council includes representatives from federal, provincial and municipal governments, social partners, political parties and key voluntary sectors, such as welfare, social services, family and youth work, culture, environmental protection, migration and volunteer centres, for five-year terms. This broad membership ensures that all relevant groups involved in volunteering in Austria are represented. The Council also regularly reports on the state and development of volunteering in Austria.