Legal notice & data protection for a psychology practice in Austria: clinical and health psychologists

Legal notice for clinical psychologists under § 5 ECG

Even a simple practice website is an information society service. The E-Commerce-Gesetz (E-Commerce Act) therefore requires certain details to be easily, directly and permanently accessible: in practice, an “Impressum” link in the footer of every page. For health professions, § 5 Abs 1 Z 6 ECG matters most: anyone subject to professional regulations must name the chamber, professional association “or a similar body” they belong to, the professional title together with the member state that awarded it, and a reference to the applicable professional law and where it can be accessed.

Professional title, specialisations and clear boundaries

If you are registered in the list and work self-employed, you must use the professional title (§ 20 Abs 1 and § 29 Abs 1 PG) and mark your practice location at least with your name and professional title. What is on your practice sign should also be in the Impressum and on the home page. Copy the spelling from your list entry; then your website, sign and the public list match.

• Specialisations: Up to four references may be added in brackets to the professional title, such as “Klinische Psychologin (Kinder-, Jugend- und Familienpsychologie)” (child, adolescent and family psychology). You need proven expertise, usually from several years of work in the field and a curriculum of at least 120 units (§ 20 Abs 5, § 29 Abs 5 PG).
• “Psychologin” on its own: This title is tied to a completed degree in psychology (§ 4 PG); any title that falsely suggests one is prohibited. It does not, however, replace the professional title from the list.
• Academic degrees such as Mag.a, MSc or Dr.in go with your name. They are not a professional title.
• Association membership: Membership of the BÖP (Berufsverband Österreichischer Psychologinnen und Psychologen, the Austrian professional association of psychologists) is voluntary. You may mention it, but it does not replace the professional list.

Supervisory authority: § 5 Abs 1 Z 5 ECG only requires it “where the activity is subject to official supervision”. There is no chamber that supervises you; the list is kept by the Ministry of Health, which also decides on registration and removal. Many psychologists therefore name the ministry as their supervisory authority. This is not explicitly required, but it does no harm.

The Offenlegung under § 25 Mediengesetz

Every website is a medium within the meaning of the Mediengesetz (Media Act). If it only presents you and your services, the small Offenlegung (disclosure) under § 25 Abs 5 MedienG is enough: name, business purpose (such as “clinical-psychological practice” or “health-psychological practice”) and place of residence or registered office. It may be on the same page as the Impressum.

If you regularly write articles, for example on coping with stress, sleep or learning difficulties in children, that go beyond presenting your practice and can influence public opinion, the full Offenlegung with a Blattlinie (editorial policy statement) may be required. A newsletter published at least four times a year also needs its own Impressum under § 24 MedienG.

Confidentiality and data protection: what your website reveals

Under § 37 Psychologengesetz 2013, you are bound to secrecy about everything entrusted to you or that you learn in the course of your profession, and so are your assistants. Only patients who are capable of making the decision can release you from this duty. At the same time, information about mental health is health data under Art. 9 GDPR. For your website, this means: every channel through which people reach you must preserve this confidentiality.

Online sessions: § 32a PG allows clinical-psychological and health-psychological services online, synchronously with sound and picture, if this is justified on professional or geographical grounds and the patients agree. Professional duties and confidentiality apply unchanged, and digital accessibility should be as good as possible. You document the reason (§ 32a Abs 2 PG). Name the video tool in your privacy policy and only write “online appointments by arrangement” on your website, not “everything online”.

The privacy policy informs visitors under Art. 13 GDPR who processes which data, for what purpose, on what legal basis and for how long. A copied template that lists tracking services you don’t use but leaves out your video tool is a common mistake. You must also inform your patients about data processing as part of the information you give them before treatment (§ 34 PG). A single-person practice usually doesn’t need a data protection officer, because it does not carry out “large-scale” processing within the meaning of Art. 37 GDPR.

No client testimonials, no promises of a cure

In other industries, testimonials and thank-you letters are the strongest selling point. In your practice they are delicate: publishing one already confirms that someone was in treatment with you. Then there is professional law: § 38 PG prohibits unobjective and untrue information in connection with your profession, as well as commissions for referrals. The Ethikrichtlinie only allows promotional references if they are limited to factual, objectively verifiable information about your services.

Build trust with facts instead: training, specialisations, assessment and treatment services, settings, languages, costs and possible reimbursement, the accessibility of your practice and a photo of yourself. What is allowed is covered in the post Advertising for psychologists in Austria.

Cookies, maps and embedded content

Under § 165 Abs 3 TKG 2021 (Telecommunications Act), information may only be stored on or read from visitors’ devices with their active consent, unless it is strictly necessary for the service they requested. For a psychology practice, restraint makes double sense, because even visiting a page about eating disorders or dementia assessment can reveal a lot about a person.

• Analytics: cookieless, data-minimising solutions without sharing data with ad networks instead of classic tracking.
• Maps: a directions map as an image with a link to the route, or a map that only loads after a click.
• Fonts: load them locally from your own server instead of from Google Fonts.
• Booking and video widgets: link rather than embed them, so data only flows when someone deliberately clicks.

Accessibility Act: does it affect your practice?

The Barrierefreiheitsgesetz (BaFG, Accessibility Act) has applied since 28 June 2025. Among other things, it covers e-commerce services for consumers, such as online booking or online payment. Microenterprises with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than €2 million are exempt for services, which applies to most single-person practices. An accessible website with good contrast, alt texts and keyboard navigation is still worth it: many of your clients rely on simple, clear pages, especially in stressful phases.

Checklist for your website

How the rest of your website should be structured is shown in the post What belongs on a practice website. If you are just starting out, the guide Setting up as a psychologist in Austria helps. What to keep in mind when advertising is in the post Advertising for psychologists in Austria; how to be found on Google, in the guide to the Google Business Profile.