Source: parlament.gv.at
A new whistleblowing law to transpose the EU Directive on Whistleblowing has been adopted in Austria.
The Austrian Parliament approved the legislation (known as HinsweisgerberInnenschutzgesetz) which seeks to transpose the EU Directive on whistleblowing into national law, making it the seventeenth country to adopt legislation to implement the directive.
In a statement published by Transparency International Austria, Kristof Wabl, Head of the national Whistleblowing Working Group said:
“The unique opportunity to finally bring about a change in mentality in Austria and to grant whistleblowers the long overdue protection is being wasted with this draft law.”
For the implementation of an internal whistleblower system, the affected companies and legal entities in the public sector are generally granted a period of six months from the entry into force of the law. Companies and legal entities in the public sector with 50 to 249 employees are granted an extended implementation period until December 17, 2023.