Legal notice and mandatory details for mediators in Austria

First things first: on what basis do you mediate?

Your legal notice reflects your professional status. For mediators in Austria there are three typical set-ups, and many websites mix them up without meaning to. Place yourself before you start writing:

1. Registered mediator without another chamber profession. You are on the list of mediators kept by the BMJ, and the Gewerbeordnung (Trade Act) does not apply to you (§ 35 ZivMediatG). This is the case the next two sections mainly deal with.
2. Mediation under a trade licence. You are not registered and practise mediation within the trade of Lebens- und Sozialberatung (life and social counselling) or management consultancy.
3. Chamber profession plus mediation. You are, for example, a lawyer, notary, tax adviser or clinical psychologist and also registered as a mediator. In that case, you combine the details of both roles.

The legal notice under § 5 ECG for registered mediators

The E-Commerce-Gesetz (E-Commerce Act) requires the details to be permanently and easily accessible. A “Legal notice” link in the footer of every page meets that requirement. For registered mediators, this results in the following list:

Two points are matters of interpretation. Whether the Ministry of Justice is a “supervisory authority” within the meaning of § 5 (1) no. 5 ECG is not expressly regulated. Because the BMJ keeps the list and can remove mediators by official decision, there is no harm in naming it with its address (Museumstraße 7, 1070 Wien). The Dienstleistungsgesetz (Services Act) does not list registered mediators among its exceptions (§ 3 DLG); since § 19 ZivMediatG requires liability insurance, there is a strong case that the details under § 22 (1) no. 11 DLG must be given. Naming the insurer makes sense anyway, because that is exactly what the parties ask about when an agreement goes wrong.

If you mediate under a trade licence

Without registration, you need a trade licence. Mediation is expressly listed in the catalogue of activities for Lebens- und Sozialberatung, and according to the WKO (Austrian Economic Chamber), business mediation is also covered by the management consultancy trade. Your legal notice changes considerably as a result:

• The wording of the licence exactly as in the trade register (GISA), for example “Lebens- und Sozialberatung” (life and social counselling) or “Unternehmensberatung einschließlich der Unternehmensorganisation” (management consultancy including business organisation).
• Trade authority: the district authority (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) or municipal authority (Magistrat) that granted the licence.
• Chamber: the Wirtschaftskammer of your federal state and the trade group (Personenberatung und Personenbetreuung, or Unternehmensberatung, Buchhaltung und Informationstechnologie).
• Professional rules: the Gewerbeordnung, available in the RIS.
• Do not use the word “eingetragen” (registered): even phrases such as “staatlich gelistet” (state-listed) can be confused with it and are punishable under § 32 ZivMediatG.

The Wirtschaftskammer's catalogue of activities lists what falls under Lebens- und Sozialberatung. If you have questions about the exact wording of your licence, your trade group can help.

Dual role: chamber profession and mediation

If you are a lawyer, notary or chartered accountant and also registered as a mediator, put the full details of your chamber profession in the legal notice: chamber, professional title, professional rules. Mediation is added as a second professional title. Make sure it stays clear in which role you act for whom. § 16 (1) ZivMediatG rules out mediating a conflict in which you have already been a party, representative or adviser. Conversely, under the ÖRAK's mediation guidelines, lawyers may not represent or advise either side in the same conflict after a mediation.

Something similar applies to psychologists and psychotherapists: the professional title under the relevant professional act and the entry in the professional register belong in the notice, with mediation following on a separate line. The details of the legal notice for law firms are in the article Mandatory details for lawyers in Austria.

Disclosure under § 25 Mediengesetz

Your website is a medium, and you are its media owner (Medieninhaber:in). For a website that only presents you and your services, the short disclosure under § 25 (5) MedienG (Media Act) is enough: name, business purpose and place of residence or registered office. The business purpose might read, for example, “Mediation in Zivilrechtssachen” (mediation in civil law matters).

If you write articles regularly, for example on custody after divorce or on disputes between shareholders, your website may go further than that and be capable of influencing public opinion. In that case, add the basic editorial direction, for example “Information über Mediation und Konfliktlösung” (information on mediation and conflict resolution).

Data protection and the contact form of a mediation practice

People who contact a mediator are often in the middle of a separation, an inheritance dispute or a conflict within a team. Health data, details about children or the other side quickly end up in the first email. The privacy policy under Art. 13 GDPR is mandatory, but it is even more important that your form does not collect such data in the first place.

Cookies, embedded services and accessibility

Under § 165 (3) TKG 2021 (Telecommunications Act), information may only be stored on or read from visitors' devices with consent, unless it is strictly necessary for the requested service. Embedded maps, videos, external fonts and analytics tools often trigger this. If you serve fonts locally, use analytics without cookies and only load the map after a click, you can often do without a cookie banner altogether.

Since 28 June 2025, the Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG, Accessibility Act) has applied to certain e-commerce services for consumers, such as booking paid appointments online. Microenterprises with fewer than ten employees and no more than 2 million euros in annual turnover or balance sheet total are exempt. That covers almost all mediation practices. A readable website with good contrast, alt texts and keyboard navigation still makes sense, because parties with disabilities also need to understand what you offer.

What no longer belongs on your website

What a good mediation website needs besides the mandatory details is described in the article What belongs on a firm website. How you may promote your title, areas of focus and reviews is covered in Advertising for mediators in Austria. For the route to registration, read Becoming a mediator in Austria.