Court of Audit objects to ÖVP's 2023 accountability report – three violations reported

At the center of the objections is, among other things, a donation of 7,000 euros that a company had made to the party. The ÖVP had originally declared the amount as a membership fee; after an inquiry by the Court of Audit, the party reduced the actual membership fee to 3,000 euros. The difference of 4,000 euros was reclassified as a donation in a later version of the accountability report. According to the Court of Audit, this donation should have been reported on a quarterly basis by the summer of 2023 at the latest, which did not happen.

Impermissible corporate donations

Another violation concerns a corporate donation of 1,000 euros to the Bauernbund Tirol. According to the company register, the shareholders of the donating company were predominantly foreign natural persons. Under Austria's Political Parties Act, donations from companies whose shareholders are predominantly foreign natural persons are impermissible; the threshold for impermissible foreign donations is 500 euros.

A donation of 350 euros to the ÖAAB Oberösterreich was also objected to. Since the Upper Austrian state holding – and thus indirectly the state – held the majority in the donating company, this contribution is likewise not permitted under the Political Parties Act. Donations from companies with significant public participation are accordingly impermissible.

Magazine 'GRAZ konkret' in focus

The Court of Audit also examined the party magazine "GRAZ konkret," which was published three times in 2023 by the Graz People's Party together with the ÖVP city council club in Graz. The total costs amounted to approximately 63,300 euros, which were split roughly evenly between the party and the club. Since the content of the magazine was predominantly attributable to the party, the Graz People's Party should have borne at least 70 percent of the costs – around 44,300 euros – according to the Court of Audit.

In addition, the Court of Audit identified a donation of at least 12,564 euros from the Graz city council club to the Graz People's Party that was not declared as a donation and exceeded the statutory donation ceiling by almost 4,000 euros. According to the report, this could constitute an impermissible donation from the Graz city council club to the Graz party.

Late reports from Vorarlberg

Three smaller donations totaling 777.92 euros were also not reported on time according to the Court of Audit: 200 euros and 370 euros to the ÖVP Frauen Vorarlberg, as well as 207.92 euros to the Bauernbund local group Schoppernau. These contributions were only reported to the Court of Audit in March 2026 – more than two years after the statutory deadlines. An audit by the Vorarlberg State Court of Audit had uncovered the three donations.

The ÖVP accepted the Court of Audit's assessment and corrected the donations accordingly, according to the report. The party was able to dispel further suspicions in connection with the Seniorenbund and the "Gemeinsam für Haslauer" personal committee, according to its own statements. In 2023, the ÖVP received around 58 million euros in public party funding from federal and state sources.

Further proceedings at the UPTS

The final decision on possible sanctions lies with the UPTS. The body is responsible for ruling on fines should it consider the violations to be established. When the UPTS will reach a decision is not apparent from the available information.