Prison Leave and Work Release in Austria: Ausgang, Freigang and Interruption

Relaxations of imprisonment are statutory deviations from closed custody that keep up contact with the outside world and prepare reintegration. They follow an inner step logic: the closer release approaches and the more reliably the prisoner behaves, the further the tie to the institution can be loosened. None of these relaxations is automatic, each requires a favourable forecast and the absence of opposing grounds.

The common yardstick is the expectation that the relaxation will not be abused. That expectation draws on conduct so far, the state of the enforcement plan (Vollzugsplan) under section 135 StVG and the concrete life situation. Anyone who can show a stable connection, a work or housing prospect and conduct free of complaints creates the basis on which the prison governor (Anstaltsleitung) can take a positive decision.

It is important to distinguish relaxations from electronically monitored house arrest (elektronisch ueberwachter Hausarrest) and from conditional release (bedingte Entlassung). Relaxations take place within the ongoing prison sentence and leave the enforcement in place in principle. They are often the path on which the social forecast needed for a later conditional release under section 46 StGB can be built up in the first place.

Escorted leave (Ausfuehrung) under section 98 StVG is the most restricted form: the prisoner leaves the institution under guard, for example for an unavoidable appointment or a treatment that is not possible inside. It is suited to one-off occasions where an escort remains necessary.

Interruption of the sentence (Unterbrechung) under section 99 StVG permits an absence of up to eight days. It applies in particular to the serious illness or funeral of a close relative or another important family matter, and on stricter conditions for economic reasons where the remaining sentence does not exceed one year. During the interruption, accommodation and maintenance must be secured. The prison governor decides on approval, the enforcement court (Vollzugsgericht) on whether the time counts towards the sentence.

Leave (Ausgang) under section 99a StVG is the regular unaccompanied relaxation: up to twice per quarter for no more than twelve hours per day, extended to up to 48 hours where travel time requires it. The conditions are that the sentence still to be served does not exceed three years, that there is no special dangerousness, and that the leave serves an important personal, economic or legal purpose within the meaning of section 93 paragraph 2 StVG.

The relaxed form of imprisonment (gelockerter Vollzug) under section 126 StVG bundles several steps that all roll back the guarding. They range from restricting or removing the guard during work, through outside work (Aussenbeschaeftigung), to work release (Freigang). On work release the prisoner works for an outside employer without direct supervision and then returns to the institution. Because of this outside contact, the prisoner must consent.

A relaxation of this kind is granted only where suitable conditions exist, the measure promotes the purposes of the sentence, and it is to be expected that the relaxation will not be abused. In practice that means a viable work or employment prospect, reliable conduct in the institution and an enforcement plan that provides for the transition to the relaxed form.

Work release is often the last step before conditional release. Anyone who shows over months that they work reliably outside the institution and return in the evening provides the court with a robust basis for a favourable social forecast. It is therefore worth anchoring the steps of relaxation early in the enforcement plan and documenting the build-up consistently.

If the prison governor refuses a relaxation or revokes one already granted, that is a decision affecting the rights of the prisoner. A complaint (Beschwerde) under section 120 StVG lies against it. It must be brought within two weeks of learning of the decision and has no suspensory effect in principle. Where no remedy is granted, the enforcement court (Vollzugsgericht) decides on complaints against decisions of the prison governor (section 16 paragraph 3 StVG).

A further complaint to the Higher Regional Court Vienna (Oberlandesgericht Wien) is admissible only where a question of law of fundamental importance arises (section 16a StVG). In practice this means the complaint must be precise. It attacks the load-bearing reasoning of the refusal and sets out why the denied condition is in fact met, for example because the remaining sentence is below the statutory limit or the assessment of dangerousness does not withstand the file.

Even where a relaxation remains refused, the matter is rarely final. Conditions change as the sentence progresses, with therapy progress and with a more stable life prospect. A refused application can be made again at a later point on a better basis, which is why ongoing documentation of your own development pays off.