After a century of secrecy, the Constitution stipulates that state bodies must operate transparently. The Freedom of Information Act has also come into force, granting citizens the right to access the work of government authorities. State bodies, municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, and numerous public institutions and state-owned companies are now required to publish information proactively and to respond to data requests within four weeks.

Alma Mater Vienna, part of Alma Mater Europaea University, is leading the IFG.at project, which aims to monitor the implementation of the new regulation and prepare state bodies for the changes. The team includes 25 leading experts, among them five Harvard University graduates, Wall Street Journal journalist Laine Higgins, Bloomberg journalist Samuel Stolton, University of Texas professor Richard Albert, HEC Paris professor Alberto Alemanno, George Washington University professor Mary Anne Franks, American University professor David Lublin, and others.

The IFG project group, headed by constitutional law expert and Alma Mater Vienna director Prof. Dr. Jurij Toplak, filed the first ten information requests just seconds after midnight, when the new regulation took effect. Among other things, they requested a list of all Austrian federal judges from the Austrian Ministry of Justice. By filing immediately at midnight, they symbolically demonstrated that state authorities must begin complying with the transparency rules without delay.

The law requires that information of broader significance, such as contracts worth more than €100,000, be made publicly accessible. The aim is to allow citizens to scrutinize the use of public funds and the functioning of state institutions. While exceptions remain (e.g., security, public order, protection of private interests), the courts will decide disputed cases.

On its very first day, several Austrian media outlets reported the work of Alma Mater’s IFG project, including Die Presse, Salzburger Nachrichten, Vienna.at, and the APA news agency.