Workplace Accidents in Austria: Reporting, Treatment and the Role of AUVA

If you are injured while working or travelling to or from work, Austria’s accident insurance may become involved alongside your health insurer. This guide explains what can count as a workplace accident, who must report it and when, and what treatment, rehabilitation and financial benefits may be available. It summarises the situation in 2026.

What counts as a workplace accident?

Accident insurance is not limited to injuries that happen at the workplace during working hours. A workplace accident may include an accident that:

• has a geographical, temporal and causal connection with the work that establishes the insurance cover;
• happens while working remotely or from home office;
• happens on the direct route from home to work, from work home or from work to lunch; shared car journeys (Fahrgemeinschaft) are also covered;
• happens during training intended to provide specific professional knowledge, or on the way to that training;
• happens on the direct route to a doctor if this interrupts the route to work or home, provided that you informed your employer in advance about the medical visit;
• happens while taking a child to or from kindergarten, school or daytime supervision on the way to or from work, if caring for the child is your responsibility;
• happens while using employee representation services, for example the Arbeiterkammer, a trade union or an Innung.

A traffic accident on the way to work may also qualify as a workplace accident. In this situation, social insurance may be responsible in addition to the liability insurer.

Situations treated like workplace accidents

Some accidents outside work are treated like workplace accidents. Examples include:

• an accident on the way to a job interview arranged through the AMS;
• an accident while helping at an accident scene or donating blood;
• an accident during the training, exercises or deployment of the volunteer fire brigade, Red Cross, mountain rescue service, water rescue service and other listed rescue organisations.

For children in kindergarten, school pupils and university students, activities connected with the institution, school events and the direct route to and from the institution are also covered.

Which accident insurer is responsible?

Workplace accidents are handled by an accident insurance provider (Unfallversicherungsträger). Austria has three such institutions:

• Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt (AUVA)
• Versicherungsanstalt für öffentlich Bedienstete, Eisenbahnen und Bergbau (BVAEB)
• Sozialversicherungsanstalt der Selbständigen (SVS)

For an overview of Austria’s insurance system, see health insurance in Austria.

Who reports the accident and when?

Reporting takes place in several stages:

1. Employees must inform their employer without delay about every workplace accident, near miss, serious and immediate danger they notice, and defects in protective systems.
2. In the event of a fatal or serious accident, the employer must immediately notify the labour inspectorate (Arbeitsinspektorat), unless the safety authorities have already been notified.
3. If the injured person is completely or partly unable to work for more than three days, or has died, the accident must be reported to the accident insurer (Unfallmeldung) within five days. AUVA provides an online form for this purpose.

Self-employed people must report their own accident on time as well as accidents involving their employees.

Pupils and university students should report an accident to the management of their institution. The school or university must report every accident involving physical injury or death within five days at the latest.

What treatment is available?

Accident treatment

Accident treatment (Unfallheilbehandlung) aims to eliminate or improve the effects of an injury or other health impairment. It is available when compulsory health insurance does not provide appropriate treatment. The accident insurer can take over treatment at any time, for example by referring the person to an accident hospital.

AUVA operates its own accident hospitals: the Traumazentrum in Vienna, with Meidling and Lorenz Böhler locations, as well as hospitals in Graz, Klagenfurt, Kalwang, Linz and Salzburg.

Rehabilitation

• Medical rehabilitation: this ranges from first aid and intensive care to prostheses. AUVA’s rehabilitation centres are Häring, Weißer Hof and Tobelbad, as well as an institution in Vienna-Meidling specialising in traumatic brain injuries.
• Vocational rehabilitation: this supports a return to the previous job or the acquisition of a new profession. There is no statutory entitlement to it.
• Social rehabilitation: examples include adapting a home or obtaining and adapting a car. This is a voluntary benefit and there is also no statutory entitlement to it.

What financial benefits are available?

• Accident pension (Versehrtenrente): available if earning capacity remains reduced by at least 20% for more than three months after the accident.
• Transitional payment (Übergangsgeld): paid during retraining; it amounts to 60% of the income from the calendar year before the accident and increases for each dependent.
• Versehrtengeld: a one-off payment for pupils, university students and children in kindergarten.
• Compensation for loss of integrity (Integritätsabgeltung): a one-off payment if a lasting impairment was caused by a grossly negligent breach of workplace safety rules; it is limited to twice the annual maximum contribution base.
• Survivor’s pension (Hinterbliebenenrente): available after death to a surviving spouse, registered partner and orphans.

You will receive a decision (Bescheid) on financial benefits within six months. You can bring a court action (Klage) against it. When the claim is filed, the decision loses its effect for the disputed part.

Employers with up to 50 employees may receive support from AUVA or BVAEB for continuing to pay wages.

Frequently asked questions

Is an injury while working from home a workplace accident?

Yes, an accident that happens while working remotely may qualify as a workplace accident.

Am I covered if I take my child to kindergarten on the way to work?

Yes, if caring for the child is your responsibility, this journey is also covered.

What if I visit a doctor before work?

The direct route to the doctor is covered if you informed your employer about the medical visit in advance.

Do I need to use my e-card at the hospital?

You generally use your e-card for treatment. See Austrian e-card 2026 for details.

Practical steps after an accident

1. Seek medical help and keep records of the injury and treatment.
2. Tell your employer about the accident without delay, including where and when it happened.
3. Explain if the accident happened on a direct route, during home office work, training or another covered activity.
4. Check that your employer submits the Unfallmeldung within five days if the injury causes more than three days of incapacity for work, or in the event of death.
5. If you are self-employed, report your own accident as well as accidents involving your employees.
6. Keep the Bescheid and seek professional advice if you wish to challenge it through a Klage.

This article is based on information available online and is not legal, medical or other professional advice. Use it at your own risk. For advice, contact a lawyer, legal professional, healthcare professional, employment or labour-law specialist, or another relevant expert.

Source: oesterreich.gv.at