Zivildienst in Austria

The Zivildienst (German, translated verbatim to "Civilian Service", but "compulsory paid community service" is more contextually equivalent) is the alternative service for national military service in the Austrian Armed Forces. Officially called Zivildienstleistender (ZDL) it is common to call them Zivi or Zivildiener. Since 1975, drafted men may refuse the military service on conscientious reasons and serve in the alternative civilian service instead. This generally involves work in social services like hospitals, youth organisations, nursing homes, rescue services, the ambulance service, and care of the disabled. The service usually lasts nine months. About a third of the drafted male citizens in Austria choose this option (13,510 in 2011) by declaring a conflict of conscience.

The compulsory community service was introduced under the Kreisky II cabinet in 1975 due to pressure by pacifist groups. The military was pleased by the development, because it led to fewer disruptions of military service due to pacifists refusing weapons. Once an Austrian has completed compulsory community service, he is exempt from military service for life, and can therefore never be called for military duty.

Though compulsory community service is firmly anchored in the constitution together with military service, it is supposed to be reserved for exceptional cases. Originally, conscientious objectors had to explain their doubts in front of a commission, which would determine whether or not they would be sent to the Zivildienst. The compulsory community service lasted eight months, the same length as military service. The law was amended in 1991 so that objectors only need to declare their objection, rather than facing a commission. As a result, the number of objectors rose, so the length of the civilian service was increased in stages: first to 10 months in 1992; then 11 months; then 12 months in 1997 (including two weeks of holidays).

Between 1 April 2002 and 30 September 2005, the Zivildienstverwaltungs GmbH, organized as an affiliated limited liability company of the Austrian Red Cross, was responsible for distributing compulsory service personnel on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. This ended after the Austrian Constitutional Court demanded this activity as part of government and its integration into the interior ministry. Since October 2005, the Agency for the Alternative Civil Service (in German: Zivildienstagentur), which is responsible to the interior ministry, handles all issues regarding the compulsory community service.

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