Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Austria have advanced significantly in the 21st century, and are now considered generally progressive. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Austria. Registered partnerships were introduced in 2010, giving same-sex couples some of the rights of marriage. Stepchild adoption was legalised in 2013, while full joint adoption was legalised by the Constitutional Court of Austria in 2016. On 5 December 2017, the Austrian Constitutional Court decided to legalise same-sex marriage, and the ruling went into effect on 1 January 2019.

The country, while influenced by Roman Catholicism, has become more liberal with laws and social opinions concerning sexual orientation and gender identity over time. However, there are still many LGBT minorities who think that being different is a problem. In June 2019, Minister of Education, Science and Research Iris Eliisa Rauskala became the first government minister to come out as lesbian.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen supports LGBT rights and said they are human rights. In 2019, he became the first head of state to take part in the EuroPride parade in Vienna.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity In 1770, the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana, the first unified criminal law for the Habsburg hereditary lands, criminalized various sexual acts, including sodomy. Offenders were subject to decapitation and burning, and sometimes branding. However, same-sex acts were not consistently pursued, and Maria Theresa had the authority to grant pardons.

In 1787, Joseph II reformed the law, introducing milder punishments. Although the death penalty for homosexuality was officially abolished, it was replaced with forced labor, including the brutal practice of ship pulling.

In 1803, a new criminal law abolished ship pulling for homosexuals, substituting it with imprisonment for six months to one year.

The criminal code underwent several amendments until 1852 when impropriety against nature was still punishable, with increased imprisonment from one to five years.

Legal interpretations evolved over time, initially exempting certain acts but later broadening the scope to include all immoral acts with a person of the same sex.

Following the "Anschluss," Section 129 Ib of the 1852 Criminal Code was retained. Thus, unlike in Germany, lesbianism remained a crime in Austria. In 1940, a court ruling aligned the Austrian law with the 1935 version of Paragraph 175, increasing prosecution and criminal penalties.

In 1971, an amendment to the Penal Code decriminalised non-commercial same-sex sexual acts between adults, while at the same time introducing a new provision (Section 209), which set the age of consent for gay male sex at 18, 4 years higher than the lesbian and heterosexual age of consent, which was instead set at 14.

On 10 July 2002, Parliament passed a law formally repealing Section 209, which had already been declared unconstitutional and unenforceable by the Constitutional Court of Austria on 2 June 2002.

In 2003, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in S. L. v. Austria that setting an unequal age of consent was incompatible with the Convention; the case had been brought before the Court prior to the repeal of Paragraph 209.

Despite widespread support to set up an "expungement or compensation scheme" for old historical gay sex criminal records, as of July 2020, the government of Austria has not implemented it yet.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Following the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in Karner v. Austria in 2003, cohabitating same-sex couples were given the same rights as cohabitating opposite-sex couples.

First planned in 2007, registered partnerships have been legal in Austria since 1 January 2010.

Before the Constitutional Court decided to legalize same-sex marriage, the Austrian Government had not legalised same-sex marriage due to opposition by the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). The Greens had however introduced a bill in Parliament, and in 2015 a citizens' initiative "Ehe Gleich!" was set up to petition the Parliament to consider the legalisation of same-sex marriage. They also filed a lawsuit challenging the current law; however, it was dismissed by a lower court. A second lawsuit was heard on 21 March 2016 in Linz. On 15 April 2016, a court dismissed the case as well.

On 5 December 2017, the Constitutional Court struck down the ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The ruling would take effect on 1 January 2019, though the plaintiffs in the court case were allowed to marry prior to that date. In January 2018, the new ÖVP-Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, said on national television that his new Government will respect the ruling by the Constitutional Court. As legislators took no steps to legalise same-sex marriage before the deadline, same-sex marriage became legal on 1 January 2019.Das Erste.de :Kanzler Kurz, Wunderknabe oder politischer Scharfmacher? (german) , 17 January 2018.

Adoption and parenting On 19 February 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in X and Others v. Austria that a partner in a same-sex union has the right to adopt their partner's biological child. On 4 July 2013, the Austrian Parliament passed a government bill that allows stepchild adoption by same-sex couples. The law entered into force on 1 August 2013.

In January 2015, the Constitutional Court found the existing laws on adoption to be unconstitutional and ordered the laws to be changed by 31 December 2015 to allow joint adoption by same-sex couples. On 30 October 2015, the Justice Minister announced that the ban would no longer be enforced starting on 1 January 2016, thus allowing the Court's decision to automatically cancel the joint adoption ban.

Additionally, lesbian couples can get access to artificial insemination and IVF treatments.

In October 2018, in a case concerning adoption issues following the end of a relationship, the Austrian Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples must be treated the same way as opposite-sex couples. It decided that the non-biological mother should be fully recognized as a parent, through way of an adoption, and enjoy the same rights, treatment and obligations as a heterosexual father would, even if the couple has separated. The children's best interest must be taken and guaranteed in every adoption process, the court ruled.

Discrimination protections The Equal Treatment Act () has included anti-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation in employment since 2004, to follow the implementation of EU legislation prohibiting discrimination on that ground. Gender identity and intersex status are not explicitly included, but are perceived as being covered under "gender". In January 2017, Lower Austria became the last Austrian state (Bundesland) to update its anti-discrimination laws to cover sexual orientation in the provision of goods and services. Every other state had already established anti-discrimination laws covering sexual orientation.

The 1993 Security Police Act () requires the police to refrain from any actions that could create the impression of bias or that could be perceived as discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. In addition, the city of Bludenz adopted a symbolic non-discrimination declaration which includes sexual orientation in 1998. Although the Federal Constitution protects all citizens equally and prohibits discrimination, sexual orientation is not explicitly included.

In 2015, the Austrian Parliament approved amendments to the Criminal Code, making it an aggravating sentence to commit a crime on account of the victim's sexual orientation and banning hate speech on the basis of sexual orientation. The changes went into effect on 1 January 2016.

Gender identity and expression Transgender people in Austria are allowed to change their legal gender and name so that they match their gender identity. They are not obliged to undergo sex reassignment surgery beforehand. The legal change of gender and name is bound to submission of psychiatric opinion though – so is the payment of sex-change treatment by public health insurance bound to submission of various psychiatric opinions.

The use of puberty blockers in youth experiencing gender dysphoria has been endorsed by the following organizations: Österreichische Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie (Austrian Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) (ÖGKJP) Österreichische Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe (Austrian Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics) (OEGGG)

Intersex rights On 14 March 2018, the Constitutional Court preliminarily ruled that intersex people, who are biologically neither male nor female, can choose to have their entry in the birth registry left blank or changed to "inter", "other" or "X". In May 2019, as a result of the ruling, Austrian intersex activist Alex Jürgen was issued documents featuring a third gender option. The Court also ruled that intersex medical interventions are not constitutional and should be avoided as much as possible. It ruled that such medical interventions could only be justified in exceptional cases, such as in life-threatening cases. The final judgment was published on 29 June 2018, and entered into force immediately.

In July 2020, the first intersex birth certificate was legally recognised and issued to an individual person within Austria.

Military service Austria permits LGBT people to serve openly in the Austrian Armed Forces.

As of 2014, Austria allowed transgender people to serve openly in its military forces. The policy of inclusion was reportedly still in effect in 2017.

Conversion therapy

In June and July 2018, LGBT association HOSI Salzburg criticised the ultra-conservative Christian association "TeenSTAR" for claiming that "Homosexuality is considered an identity problem and 'aberration'". The group offered minors conversion therapy classes by teaching them that sexual orientation was "changeable" through a combination of therapy, self-help groups and pastoral care, as reported by the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper. Member of the National Council Mario Lindner (SPÖ) made a parliamentary request to former Minister of Education Heinz Faßmann on the allegations; another parliamentary question was launched by Member of the National Council Ewa Dziedzic (Greens). In October 2018, the Education Directorate Salzburg banned TeenSTAR workshops until the result of the review. Although the Ministry of Education announced a ban on the association, and a decree by Christmas 2018, as of February 2019, no decree had been published, and TeenSTAR continued to work in schools. In April, the association was finally banned.

In December 2018, a resolution calling for a ban on conversion therapy on minors was submitted to Parliament by SPÖ equal treatment spokesman Mario Lindner. A vote was initially prevented and delayed by the ruling ÖVP and FPÖ coalition. However, on 13 June 2019, in a preliminary vote, the National Council approved the resolution. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS) JETZT – Pilz List (JETZT), the two independent members and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) all voted for the resolution; with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) opposing. On 2 July 2019, the National Council approved the resolution in a final vote. In this vote, the FPÖ also agreed, on the grounds that children and adolescents should always be given priority protection. The resolution calls on the Government of Austria to "immediately submit to the Federal Council a government bill banning the use of conversion and reparative therapies on minors" by setting a deadline before summer.

Living conditions

Politics