1975: Introduction of Civil Service

Since 1975, civil service can be done as a replacement for military service in Austria. According to civil service law, men who are fit for military service can refuse the use of armed force on grounds of conscience and can therefore declare wanting to perform civil service instead. Until 1991, people had to justify their moral dilemma in front of a commission, but today a formal declaration is sufficient. The service is typically carried out in public institutions and social sectors, such as care for the elderly, handicapped, children and youth, ambulance service or in hospitals.

Since 1992, civil service can also be completed in a foreign country in the context of a memorial service (Holocaust-related pedagogy, archival and museum work and elderly care for Holocaust survivors), social service (international development work) or peace service (conflict management in crisis areas). Since 2013, it has been possible to have a “voluntary environmental year” credited as a social service, and since 2016 this is also possible in the context of the European Voluntary Service.