Austrian prison cost contributions: calculation under section 32, documents after release and review of complaints and remedies.
Mag. Christopher Angerer, Rechtsanwalt
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After a prison sentence, a cost contribution for maintenance during imprisonment may remain open. The key issues are the statutory calculation, the question of satisfactory work and the documents showing how the amount was assessed or collected.
This article deals only with the cost contribution under section 32 of the Austrian Prison Act. A fine, substitute imprisonment and the seizure of prison money or private funds follow different rules and are kept separate here.
First sort the documents and the time of collection. This selection does not replace a review of the specific prison measure.
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Choose the situation that best matches your case.
Compare the statement with actual work pay, the days in the sentence period and the account entries. The arithmetic question must be separated from the question whether collection is permitted at all.
Keep the payment request, all attachments and proof of service. Check whether the document is information, a collection measure or a judicial assessment.
Work records, health or organisational reasons for missing work and the detailed calculation are important. A complaint under the Prison Act may be available against a decision or order affecting rights.
Section 32(1) of the Austrian Prison Act generally requires convicted persons to contribute to their maintenance during imprisonment. If the prisoner receives work pay, section 32(2) sets the contribution at 75 percent of the relevant work pay. If there is no work pay, the statute refers to four times the hourly work pay in the highest pay level for each day of the sentence period.
When the amount is collected by deduction from work pay, the first review should establish which pay was actually received and which period the entry covers. This calculation must be kept separate from a fine or the seizure of an account balance.
An organised document review makes the calculation and the remedy easier to understand.
| Review point | Key question | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Basis Basis | Why is the amount being claimed? | Letter, legal basis and statement |
| Calculation Calculation | How was the amount determined? | Work pay, account entries and sentence days |
| Work Work | Why was no satisfactory work performed? | Work assignment, records and documented reasons |
| Service Service | When was the decision made known? | Envelope, proof of service and personal chronology |
This overview does not replace an individual review. The current statute and the specific prison measure are decisive.
Under section 32(4), the obligation for the contribution under section 32(2), second case, lapses if the prisoner is not responsible through intent or gross negligence for the absence of work or unsatisfactory work. The provision also refers by analogy to section 391 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The reason for missing work and the question whether collection can be enforced therefore need separate documentation.
Specific facts matter more than a general statement that work was impossible. The review should cover the work assignment, recorded performance, time-related obstacles and communication with the prison. A medical question about the type of treatment belongs to a different legal route.
Section 32(5) sets out a specific procedure where no work pay was received. If the head of the prison in which the sentence was last served considers that the obligation does not lapse under section 32(4), the head must apply to the prison court within eight days after release for the contribution to be assessed. The prison court must decide the application within one month.
A letter received after release should therefore be classified carefully. Its title alone does not establish whether it is information, a collection measure or a judicial assessment. Keep the complete document, attachments and proof of service. The release date and earlier communication with the prison may also be relevant.
Section 120 allows a complaint against a decision or order affecting the prisoner's rights and against corresponding conduct by prison staff. The complaint must identify the challenged measure and give reasons unless they are obvious. A complaint against a decision can generally be filed within fourteen days after the decision was announced or served. If a written copy was requested no later than the third day after announcement, service of that copy controls the deadline.
A complaint generally has no suspensive effect. Under section 120(3), suspensive effect can be granted on application or by the authority if the statutory conditions are met. Under section 121, the prison court decides a complaint against the head of the prison if the head does not remedy it. A complaint against the prison court's decision can be filed with the Vienna Higher Regional Court within six weeks for unlawfulness. The available route depends on the document and the authority that made the decision.
Check the deadline: Do not set aside a payment request or a letter received after release without review. Secure service, sender, calculation and legal basis. The deadline and competent route depend on the specific prison measure.
No. The contribution under section 32 concerns maintenance during imprisonment. A fine is a different sanction with its own statutory basis.
Section 32(2) sets the contribution at 75 percent of the relevant work pay. The actual pay and account entries are decisive.
Section 32(2) refers to four times the hourly work pay in the highest pay level for each day of the sentence period. The obligation may lapse under section 32(4) if its conditions are met. Section 32(5) sets the procedure for an application after release.
No. Under section 120, the start generally depends on announcement or service of the challenged decision. The document and proof of service must therefore be checked.
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