Complete guide to Auftrag.at: Austria's government procurement portal

What is Auftrag.at?

Auftrag.at is Austria's central electronic procurement platform, operated by the Bundesbeschaffung GmbH (BBG) — the federal procurement agency. It serves as the primary publication channel for public procurement notices from Austrian federal, state, and municipal contracting authorities.

The platform consolidates tender notices, contract award publications, and prior information notices into a single searchable portal. Austrian public procurement is governed by the Bundesvergabegesetz (BVergG 2018) — the Federal Procurement Act — which transposes the EU procurement directives into Austrian law.

What Auftrag.at publishes:

• Ausschreibungen (tenders) — new procurement opportunities published by contracting authorities across Austria
• Bekanntmachungen (contract award notices) — outcomes of completed procurement procedures, including winning bidder and contract value
• Vorinformationen (prior information notices) — advance notices of planned procurement exercises
• Berichtigungen (corrigenda) — corrections and amendments to existing tender notices
• Rahmenvereinbarungen (framework agreements) — BBG-managed framework contracts available to all federal entities

Above-EU-threshold contracts are simultaneously published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), making them visible across the entire European Union. Below-threshold contracts appear only on Auftrag.at and relevant Landesvergabeportale (state-level procurement portals).

Budget spending analysis

Austria's procurement thresholds follow the EU directive framework, transposed into the BVergG 2018. The system distinguishes between Oberschwellenbereich (above-threshold, EU-wide publication) and Unterschwellenbereich (below-threshold, national publication only).

Below EUR 50,000, contracting authorities can use simplified procedures (Direktvergabe — direct award) without publication on Auftrag.at. Between national and EU thresholds, notices must be published nationally but are not required on TED.

Who spends the money?

• Federal government (Bund) — approximately 35% of total procurement spend. Ministries, federal agencies, and their subordinate entities procure centrally through BBG framework agreements or individually.
• State governments (Bundeslaender) — approximately 30% of total spend. Nine states (Wien, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Steiermark, Tirol, Kaernten, Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Burgenland) with their own procurement regulations supplementing the BVergG.
• Municipalities (Gemeinden) — approximately 25% of total spend. Over 2,000 municipalities handling local infrastructure, public services, and community facilities.
• Sectoral entities and SOEs — approximately 10% of total spend. State-owned enterprises in transport, energy, and utilities.

Top procurement sectors

• Infrastructure and transport — motorway construction and maintenance (ASFINAG), rail infrastructure (OBB-Infrastruktur), tunnel engineering, and public transport systems. Austria's alpine geography drives significant civil engineering spend.
• IT and digital transformation — e-government systems, cloud migration, cybersecurity, and digital public services. Growing under Austria's Digital Austria strategy.
• Healthcare — hospital construction and equipment, health IT systems, pharmaceutical procurement, and social insurance fund spending.
• Defence — Austrian Armed Forces (Oesterreichisches Bundesheer) equipment, maintenance, and facility management through BMLV.
• Energy and climate — renewable energy, building renovation (thermische Sanierung), grid modernisation, and hydrogen strategy under the Erneuerbaren-Ausbau-Gesetz (EAG).
• Construction and real estate — federal building management through BIG (Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft), school and university construction, social housing across municipalities.

Budget calendar

Austria's fiscal year runs from January to December. The Bundesfinanzgesetz (Federal Finance Act) is typically presented in October and debated through November-December. Key timing:

• October-December: Budget debate and approval in the Nationalrat (parliament). Agencies prepare procurement plans for the coming year.
• January-March: New budget year begins. First wave of tender publications. BBG framework agreements renewed.
• April-June: Peak tender publication period. EU structural fund projects and large infrastructure procurements launch.
• July-August: Summer slowdown. Reduced publication volume during Austrian Sommerferien.
• September-December: Second wave of procurements. Year-end spending push as agencies commit remaining budget.

Who buys on Auftrag.at?

Understanding which entities buy what is critical for targeting the right opportunities. Here are the most significant contracting authorities on Auftrag.at:

How to register on Auftrag.at

To participate in Austrian public procurement, suppliers must register on the Auftrag.at platform. The process is straightforward for EU/EEA companies and also accessible to companies from GPA signatory countries.

What you need:

• Company account on Auftrag.at — create an account at auftrag.at. Registration is free for suppliers.
• ESPD (European Single Procurement Document) — a standardised self-declaration replacing most supporting documents at the bidding stage. Austrian authorities accept the electronic ESPD (eESPD) generated through the EU ESPD service or via the platform's integrated tool.
• Qualified electronic signature — bids must be signed with a qualified electronic signature under the eIDAS regulation. Austrian Buergerkarte or Handy-Signatur (mobile signature) are commonly used domestically; EU-issued qualified signatures are accepted.
• Company registration documents — Firmenbuchauszug (commercial register extract) for Austrian companies, or equivalent registration documents for foreign entities.
• Tax and social security clearance — Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung from the Finanzamt (tax office) and social security confirmation. Foreign companies provide equivalent certificates from their home jurisdiction.

Foreign company access: Under EU procurement directives, companies from EU/EEA member states and GPA signatory countries have equal access to above-threshold procurements. No Austrian subsidiary is required. Documents in foreign languages must typically be accompanied by certified German translations. English-language submissions are sometimes accepted for EU-funded or international tenders, but German is the default.

Account registration is typically processed within 1-2 business days. Setting up the qualified electronic signature may take additional time if you need to obtain a new certificate.

The language challenge

Auftrag.at operates entirely in German. All tender notices, specifications (Leistungsbeschreibungen), and correspondence are published in German. This creates a barrier for international vendors without German-language capability.

Key German procurement terms you will encounter:

Above-EU-threshold notices are also published on TED with English summaries, but the full tender documentation (Leistungsbeschreibung, Vertragsbedingungen, technische Spezifikationen) remains in German. Effective participation requires either German language capability or professional translation support.

Understanding Austrian procurement procedures

Austrian public procurement is governed by the Bundesvergabegesetz 2018 (BVergG 2018), which transposes the EU procurement directives (2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU) into Austrian law. The BVergG distinguishes between the Oberschwellenbereich (above-threshold regime) and the Unterschwellenbereich (below-threshold regime).

Key procurement procedures under the BVergG:

• Offenes Verfahren (Open procedure) — the most common procedure. Any interested supplier can submit a bid. Used for the majority of above-threshold contracts.
• Nicht offenes Verfahren (Restricted procedure) — two-stage process. Suppliers first submit requests to participate; the contracting authority shortlists candidates, then invites them to bid.
• Verhandlungsverfahren (Negotiated procedure) — allows negotiation on technical and commercial terms. Permitted under specific circumstances defined in the BVergG.
• Wettbewerblicher Dialog (Competitive dialogue) — for complex contracts where the contracting authority cannot define technical specifications upfront.
• Direktvergabe (Direct award) — below EUR 50,000 for goods/services. No publication required. The contracting authority invites one or more suppliers directly.
• Innovationspartnerschaft (Innovation partnership) — for developing innovative products or services not yet available on the market.

Procurement disputes are reviewed by the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (BVwG) for federal procurements, or by the respective Landesverwaltungsgericht for state and municipal procurements. Applications for review must be filed within strict deadlines — typically 10 days for above-threshold and 7 days for below-threshold procedures.

How to search Auftrag.at effectively

Auftrag.at provides a public search interface for all published procurement notices. The native search is keyword-based and operates entirely in German, which means you need to know the right German procurement terms to find relevant opportunities.

Tips for effective searching:

• Search by CPV codes (Common Procurement Vocabulary) — these are language-neutral EU-standard codes. For example, 72000000 for IT services, 45000000 for construction works. CPV codes are the most reliable cross-language search method.
• Use NUTS codes to filter by geography — Austria uses AT codes (e.g., AT13 for Wien, AT31 for Oberoesterreich). Essential when targeting specific Bundeslaender.
• Search by contracting authority name (Auftraggeber) to track specific buyers. Large entities like BBG, ASFINAG, and OBB publish dozens of tenders monthly.
• Check BBG framework agreements — if your product category is covered by a BBG Rahmenvereinbarung, you need to be on the framework to sell to federal agencies in that category.
• Monitor TED in parallel — above-threshold Austrian contracts appear on TED with English-language summaries, providing a complementary search channel.
• Review contract award notices (Zuschlagsentscheidungen) to understand what specific authorities have recently bought, at what prices, and from which suppliers.

The fundamental limitation: Auftrag.at's search requires German-language keywords, and Austrian procurement terminology can differ from standard commercial language. A cloud migration project might appear as "Modernisierung der IKT-Infrastruktur." Hook solves this with semantic search in English — you describe what you sell, and Hook finds matching Austrian tenders regardless of the exact German wording used.

Common questions for vendors

How Hook helps with Austrian procurement

Hook is an AI-powered search tool that sits on top of Auftrag.at and TED. Instead of navigating a German-language interface with keyword search and cross-referencing nine state portals, you ask Hook in plain English.

Example queries Hook understands:

• "Show me IT infrastructure tenders from Austrian federal agencies"
• "What road construction contracts has ASFINAG awarded above EUR 5M this year?"
• "Find cybersecurity tenders in Vienna closing in the next 30 days"
• "Which Austrian hospitals are procuring medical imaging equipment?"

Hook returns structured results: notice number, contracting authority, title (translated), estimated value, procedure type, and deadline — formatted for direct import into your CRM or pipeline. No German language skills required. No manual cross-referencing between Auftrag.at, TED, and state-level portals.

Hook also monitors Auftrag.at continuously. New notices appear in Hook within minutes of publication. For vendors targeting Austria's EUR 45-50 billion annual procurement market, this replaces daily manual checks across multiple German-language platforms.