TITLE: Austria Enacts Sustainability Reporting Law Amending Corporate and Financial Regulations
BODY:
On February 18, 2026, Austria's Federal Ministry of Justice (Bundesministerium für Justiz) enacted the Sustainability Reporting Law (Nachhaltigkeitsberichtsgesetz – NaBeG), a comprehensive federal law establishing requirements for third-country enterprise reporting and sustainability disclosure.
The law implements European Union Directive 2022/2464 into Austrian legislation. It amends multiple foundational statutes governing corporate entities and financial institutions, including the Corporate Code (Unternehmensgesetzbuch), Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz), Limited Liability Company Act (GmbH-Gesetz), Cooperative Act (Genossenschaftsgesetz), Cooperative Audit Act 1997 (Genossenschaftsrevisionsgesetz 1997), European Company Statute (SE-Gesetz), European Cooperative Society Statute (SCE-Gesetz), and Labour Constitution Act (Arbeitsverfassungsgesetz).
The law also modifies regulations applicable to professional service providers and financial supervisors, including the Auditor Supervision Act (Abschlussprüfer-Aufsichtsgesetz), Alternative Investment Fund Managers Act (Alternative Investmentfonds Manager-Gesetz), Banking Act (Bankwesengesetz), Stock Exchange Act 2018 (Börsegesetz 2018), Investment Funds Act 2011 (Investmentfondsgesetz 2011), National Bank Act 1984 (Nationalbankgesetz 1984), Savings Bank Act (Sparkassengesetz), and Insurance Supervision Act 2016 (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz 2016). Additional amendments address country-by-country reporting requirements and judicial administration procedures.
The National Council approved the legislation on January 21, 2026, with the Federal Council confirming passage on February 5, 2026. The law is now in force and published in the Austrian Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt).
REFERENCES:
Austrian Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) I Nr. 6/2026: https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/I/2026/6/20260218