Household levy

Not a good report card for ORF and ministries

The ORF points out that, in contrast to similar changes in Germany or Switzerland, it had only four months to implement the changes, rather than years.(Bild: APA/Hans Leitner)

The Court of Auditors has taken a closer look at the reform of public broadcasting fees and has not given ORF and the relevant ministries a good report card. Contrary to the expectations of the Ministry of Finance and OBS (formerly GIS GmbH), expenses could not be reduced. In fact, they rose by €1.45 million from 2023 to 2024.

The main reason for this was rising material and consulting expenses at OBS. Incomplete data in the Central Register of Residents (ZMR) – especially address data in larger cities – made it difficult to identify those liable to pay fees, which led to a variety of problems that in turn resulted in an increase in inquiries and complaints and thus also in personnel costs. In 2024, with 10.62 million personal addresses, the door number was unclear in no fewer than 590,000 cases.

Chaos with payment requests
The OBS only became aware of the inadequate data quality at the end of 2023, when the first ZMR data was transmitted to it. The poor data situation led, for example, to persons living in the same household receiving several payment requests due to inconsistent address entries in the ZMR. The ORF felt compelled to set up its own "task force" to investigate unclear cases.

The ORF pointed out that, in contrast to similar changes in Germany or Switzerland, it had only had four months to prepare, rather than years.(Bild: APA/Hans Leitner)

The OBS's highest material expense in 2024 was 8.3 million euros for postage. However, not all letters were opened. Market research results ultimately showed that the OBS brand was so unknown that some contributors simply threw the mail away. Many complaints to the OBS concerned long waiting times, payment reminders sent despite exemption from contributions, unjustified collection letters, or lack of feedback after uploading death certificates.

Customer service deficiencies not remedied in a timely manner
The Court of Auditors found that OBS had been aware of many shortcomings in customer service for years. The auditors noted that complaint management could have been adapted and professionally set up for the system changeover.

The Court of Auditors is closely examining the ORF's fee reform.(Bild: AP/APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)

Customer service was expanded due to the increased number of inquiries, with temporary staff being brought in and an external call center being commissioned. No support was provided by ORF customer service. However, this could have resulted in savings, it was said. The Court of Auditors also takes a critical view of the outsourcing of core activities, such as determining who is liable to pay contributions or informing the public about the obligation to pay contributions. This has created dependencies on third parties and neglected the sustainable training of the ORF's own staff.

ORF points to time pressure, countermeasures already in place
In a statement on the Court of Auditors' report, ORF refers to unfavorable circumstances surrounding the changeover: unlike similar changes in Germany or Switzerland, it had only four months to prepare, rather than years. This "posed major challenges for both OBS and ORF," it says. For example, it was not possible to adequately adapt IT systems and IT infrastructure to the new requirements, or this had to be done during ongoing operations. The poor quality of ZMR data also led to "significantly more interactions with contributors than expected and thus to backlogs in processing."

Recommendations also to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance
However, the ORF emphasizes that "a wide range of measures" have already been taken. This will ensure "that the OBS's expenses will decrease in the coming years." The RH also calls on the finance and interior ministries to take responsibility. In future, both should ensure that the feasibility of projects is taken into account during the legislative process. Uniform regulations for the ZMR are also suggested.