What the new law says

How the protection of whistleblowers is faring

As part of the new Whistleblower Protection Act (HSchG), certain domestic companies had to set up reporting offices by the end of last year.(Bild: stock.adobe.com - WoGi)

Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and co.: the topic of whistleblowing became known to the public not only with Julian Hessenthaler's Ibiza Strache video. Since last year, Austria has had legal requirements for dealing with whistleblowers. And the number of reports is increasing, according to the relevant authorities. How it works, what has changed and what penalties apply to whom.

Austria's ambassador to Athens, Herbert Amry, once set an example: "In 1985, he repeatedly informed the Austrian Foreign Ministry by telex and telegram about information on illegal Austrian arms exports to Iran," recalls Viennese lawyer Martin Bleckmann. Shortly afterwards, Amry died in unexplained circumstances; the arms exports by the Austrian VÖEST subsidiary Noricum later became known as the Noricum scandal.