Court of Audit reforms basic training: 16 practical days and guest audit for auditors

The President of the Court of Audit, Margit Kraker, has reorganized the basic training of the Court of Audit’s employees. The ordinance BGBl. II No. 311/2026 was promulgated on October 28, 2026, in the Austrian Federal Law Gazette, Part II, and enters into force on the day following the promulgation, i.e., on October 29, 2026. It amends the Basic Training Ordinance of the Court of Audit and completely replaces Section 8 regarding practical training.

The legal basis for the amendment is §§ 25 to 31 of the Civil Service Employment Act 1979 (BDG 1979), BGBl. No. 333/1979, most recently amended by the Federal Act BGBl. I No. 22/2026, as well as § 67 of the Contractual Employees Act 1948 (VBG), BGBl. No. 86/1948, most recently amended by BGBl. I No. 22/2026. The ordinance being amended is the Ordinance of the President of the Court of Audit on the Basic Training of the Employees of the Court of Audit, BGBl. II No. 203/2024, which was most recently adjusted by BGBl. II No. 168/2025.

The amendment affects all employees of the Court of Audit who are in training as of October 29, 2026, and for the first time explicitly distinguishes between auditing and administrative staff.

Sixteen practical days for auditors

For the auditing service, a three-part structure of practical training applies. This includes auditors in employment or remuneration group A1 or v1, employment group A2 in functional groups 7 and 8, or remuneration group v2 in evaluation groups 5 and 6. The following are provided for:

• practical employment at the primary workplace during the probationary period,
• practical days amounting to 16 working days within the Court of Audit at workplaces in an organizational unit other than the primary workplace,
• the completion of a guest audit,
• participation in the regularity and voucher audit pursuant to § 9 of the Court of Audit Act 1948, BGBl. No. 144/1948, in its current version.

Ten practical days for administrative staff

The practical training for other employees is significantly shorter. For employees in employment group A2 in functional groups 1 to 6 or remuneration group v2 in evaluation groups 1 to 4, as well as employment or remuneration group A3 or v3, ten working days are provided for:

• practical employment at the primary workplace during the probationary period,
• practical employment at one or more workplaces in the Court of Audit assigned to an organizational unit other than the primary workplace, amounting to 10 working days.

For employees in employment or remuneration groups A4 and A5 or v4, rotation is omitted entirely: their practical training takes place exclusively within the framework of practical employment at the primary workplace during the probationary period.

Guest audit as a financial management review

The regulation explicitly defines the guest audit as participation in a management audit. It must be completed in an organizational unit other than one’s own; subject to budgetary constraints, it may also be completed in another public financial control institution. The practical days are intended to serve cross-departmental knowledge transfer, interdisciplinary competence building, and a holistic understanding of organization and processes. Additionally, the table in § 7 Para. 4 is adjusted in terms of content: the phrase “The public budget” is replaced by the word “budgetary law.”

Entry into Force and Credit for Previous Practice

The new § 13 Para. 6 regulates the entry into force on the day following publication as well as the transition. Practical days already completed under the previous version BGBl. II No. 203/2024 will be credited as practical days under the new § 8 Para. 1 or Para. 2. The regulation is signed and officially certified by Margit Kraker.

With this amendment, the Court of Audit is creating a uniform training architecture tiered by employment groups: auditors will in future be required to undergo a guest audit outside their own department, while administrative staff will have shorter, purely internal practical windows. For those affected, this means clear specifications regarding the duration and stages of training; existing practical periods remain credited, so that no one has to repeat the training steps.

Source: Austrian Federal Law Gazette, Part II, No. 311/2026 of October 28, 2026, Regulation, pp. 1–2 (official reference: BGBl. II No. 311/2026).