Austria
| Question | Value |
|---|---|
1. Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to political parties? |
Code
No
Comment
Donations from foreign natural or legal persons must not exceed 2,500 Euro. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
2. Is there a ban on donations from foreign interests to candidates? |
Code
No
Comment
Donations from foreign natural or legal persons must not exceed 2,500 Euro. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
3. Is there a ban on corporate donations to political parties? |
Code
No
Comment
Donations from natural or legal persons must not exceed 2,500 Euro. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
4. Is there a ban on corporate donations to candidates? |
Code
No
Comment
Donations from natural or legal persons must not exceed 2,500 Euro. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
5. Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to political parties? |
Code
No
|
6. Is there a ban on donations from Trade Unions to candidates? |
Code
No
|
7. Is there a ban on anonymous donations to political parties? |
Code
Yes, above certain threshold
Comment
Anonymous donations may not exceed 1,000 Euro. Parties must disclose the identity of donors that are subsidizing the party for more than 3,500 Euro per annum. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
8. Is there a ban on anonymous donations to candidates? |
Code
Yes, above certain threshold
Comment
Anonymous up to 1,000 Euro. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
9. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to political parties? |
Code
No
|
10. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with government contracts to candidates? |
Code
No
|
11. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with partial government ownership to political parties? |
Code
Yes
Comment
Political parties shall not accept donations from undertakings and institutions in which the public sector holds a share of at least 25%. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
12. Is there a ban on donations from corporations with partial government ownership to candidates? |
Code
Yes
Comment
Political parties shall not accept donations from undertakings and institutions in which the public sector holds a share of at least 25%. The same rule shall be applied mutatis mutandis to all branches of a party, to members of parliament and candidates who stood for elections on a list of candidates submitted by a political party. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
13. Is there a ban on the use of state resources in favour or against a political party or candidate? |
Code
No
|
14. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during a non-election specific period? |
Code
No
Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
15. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during a non-election specific period, what is the limit? |
Code
Not applicable
|
16. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during an election? |
Code
No
|
17. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a political party during an election, what is the limit? |
Code
Not applicable
|
18. Is there a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate? |
Code
No
|
19. If there is a limit on the amount a donor can contribute to a candidate, what is the limit? |
Code
Not applicable
|
20. Is there a limit on the amount a candidate can contribute to their own election campaign? |
Code
No
|
21. Is there a limit on in-kind donations to political parties? |
Code
No
|
22. Is there a limit on in-kind donations to candidates? |
Code
No
|
23. Is there a ban on political parties engaging in commercial activities? |
Code
No
|
24. Is there a ban on political parties taking loans in relation to election campaigns? |
Code
No
|
25. Is there a ban on candidates taking loans in relation to election campaigns? |
Code
No
|
26. Is there a ban on donors to political parties/candidates participating in public tender/procurement processes? |
Code
No
|
27. Are there provisions requiring donations to go through the banking system? |
Code
No
|
| Question | Value |
|---|---|
28. Are there provisions for direct public funding to political parties? |
Code
Yes, regularly
Comment
After deduction of the subsidies pursuant to subpara 1, the remaining funds shall be distributed among the political parties represented in the National Council pro rata to the votes cast for them in the last National Council election. (3) Political parties not represented in the National Council but which received more than 1% of the valid votes in an election for the National Council shall be entitled to subsidies for their activities for the election year. Such political parties shall receive an amount of 2.5 euros per vote cast for them in a National Council election; such subsidies shall be paid within six months following the National Council election. Source
Federal Act on Federal Support of Political Parties (Support of Political Parties Act, 2012, amended 2013, Article 1. |
29. What are the eligibility criteria for political parties to receive public funding? |
Code
Comment
Parties that have obtained at least 1% of the votes are eligible for public funding. Additional funding for parties that are represented in the National Council. Source
Federal Act on Federal Support of Political Parties (Support of Political Parties Act) 2012, amended 2013, Article 1. |
30. What is the allocation calculation for political parties to receive public funding? |
Code
Proportional to votes received
Proportional to seats received
Comment
Non-parliamentary parties receive 2.5 Euro for each vote won. For parliamentary parties, the total funding (4.6 Euro per eligible voter) is divided proportionally by votes won after deduction of 218,000 Euro for each party with at least five parliamentary seats. 218,000 Euro is given equally to each party with at least five parliamentary seats as a flat rate contribution. Source
Federal Act on Federal Support of Political Parties (Support of Political Parties Act) 2012, amended 2013, Article 1. |
31. What are the provisions on 'ear marking' direct public funding to political parties (how it should be used)? |
Code
No
|
32. Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for political parties? |
Code
No
|
33. What criteria determine allocation for free or subsidized access to media for political parties? |
Code
Not applicable
|
34. Are there provisions for free or subsidized access to media for candidates? |
Code
No
|
35. Are there provisions for any other form of indirect public funding? |
Code
No
|
36. Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties tied to gender equality among candidates? |
Code
No
|
37. Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? |
Code
No
|
| Question | Value |
|---|---|
38. Is there a ban on vote buying? |
Code
Yes
Comment
Vote buying and selling is punishable with imprisonment of up to 1 year. Source
StGB Bestechung bei einer Wahl oder Volksabstimmung [Penal Code bribery in an election or referendum], amended 2015, Article 265. |
39. Are there limits on the amount a political party can spend? |
Code
Yes
Comment
7 million euros per party. If the same list of candidates is supported by two or more political parties, the maximum amount shall apply to the aggregated expenses of those parties. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 2. |
40. If there are limits on the amount a political party can spend, what is the limit? |
Code
7 mil. Euro
Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 2. |
41. Are there limits on the amount a candidate can spend? |
Code
Yes
Comment
The total campaign expenditure limit of political parties is 7 million Euro. In this, all individual candidates' campaign expenditures are included, which means that the theoretical spending limit of a candidate is 7 million Euro. If, however, a candidate spends 15,000 Euro or less, this will not count toward the party's limit. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 2. |
42. If there are limits on the amount a candidate can spend, what is the limit? |
Code
7 mil. Euro
Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 2. |
43. Are there limits on the amount that third parties can spend on election campaign activities? |
Code
No
|
44. Are there limits on traditional media advertising spending in relation to election campaigns? |
Code
No
|
45. Are there limits on online media advertising spending in relation to election campaigns? |
Code
No
|
46. Do any other restrictions on online media advertisement (beyond limits) exist? |
Code
No
|
| Question | Value |
|---|---|
47. Do political parties have to report regularly on their finances? |
Code
Yes
Comment
Every political party shall annually render public account of the type of its income and expenses by way of a statement of accounts. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
48. Do political parties have to report on their election campaign finances? |
Code
No
|
49. Do candidates have to report on their election campaign finances? |
Code
No
|
50. Do third parties have to report on election campaign finances? |
Code
No
|
51. Is information in reports from political parties and/or candidates to be made public? |
Code
Yes
Comment
If the Court of Audit determines that the statement of accounts meets the requirements (§ 5), the statement of accounts including the lists of donations, sponsorships and advertisements, and the list of undertakings in which shares are held as referred to in § 5 para 6, and the volume of the legal transactions entered into by such undertakings with institutions subject to the supervision of the Court of Audit in the reporting year shall be published, separated according to the individual parties and undertakings, on the website of the Court of Audit and the website of the political party. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 4. |
52. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates reveal the identity of donors? |
Code
Sometimes
Comment
Identity of donors giving more than 3,500 Euro in a calendar year must be identified with name and address. Donations exceeding 50,000 Euro must be immediately reported and published, including name and address of donor. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
53. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates include information on itemized income? |
Code
No
|
54. Must reports from political parties and/or candidates include information on itemized spending? |
Code
No
|
55. Which institution(s) receives financial reports from political parties and/or candidates? |
Code
Auditing agency
Comment
The Court of Audit receives reports from political parties. These reports contain parties' consolidated financial statements, which put together financial reports from both the federal level and the sub-federal levels of the party. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
56. Which institution(s) is responsible for examining financial reports and/or investigating violations? |
Code
Auditing agency
Comment
The statement of accounts to be prepared by a political party shall also be subject to the supervision of the Court of Audit. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 3. |
57. What power is granted to the institution(s) responsible for examining reports and/or investigating violations? |
Code
Request additional information from potential violator
Comment
The Court of Audit shall verify the numerical correctness of the statement of accounts and its conformity with this Federal Act. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 4. |
58. What sanctions are provided for political finance infractions? |
Code
Comment
Fines of up to 20,000 Euro and forfeiture of prohibited donations. Source
Political Parties Act 2012, amended 2013, Section 4. |
