Engineering & process · Service
Operating facility permit support
Technical support through permit procedures under § 74 ff of the Austrian Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung, GewO), from the first project outline to the final and binding official decision (Bescheid). From the perspective of an engineer who sat on the other side of the table for eight years and knows what the authority really wants to see.
Important: no legal advice
I support your procedure technically: I prepare documents, moderate contacts with the authority, and coordinate planning offices and experts. What I do not do is represent you legally before the authority. That is a job for a lawyer or, in complex procedures with objections from neighbours, a specialist in administrative law. Where needed, I work together with such specialists.
When is a procedure due?
Under § 74 GewO, an operating facility (Betriebsanlage) is any commercially used installation that may have an impact on people, the environment or the neighbourhood. The obligation to obtain a permit does not only arise when a business is founded. The four most common triggers:
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New business or change of location
Putting a commercial facility into operation for the first time or moving it to a new location: the classic case requiring a permit under §74 GewO.
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Conversion, extension, process change
Changes to a permitted facility usually require a permit themselves. Exactly from what point is a matter of case-by-case assessment. That is precisely where I help.
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Change in emissions
More noise, more waste water, more air emissions, more waste: any change relevant to emissions can bring additional permit conditions.
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New machinery or storage areas
Installing new machines, extending storage areas for dangerous goods, new working substances: all potential triggers for an amendment procedure.
Process
Four phases: from the first conversation to the official decision
You do not have to book the whole package. Depending on where your project stands, I can also step in midway, for example when the documents are ready but the procedure has stalled.
- 1
Project outline + preliminary permit check
Does the project require a permit at all? And if so, under which procedure? I review the existing official decisions, assess the extent of the change and determine the procedure (notification, simplified procedure, ordinary permit procedure).
- 2
Preparing the documents
Technical description, building and site plans (coordinated with a chartered engineer, Ziviltechniker, where needed), machine layout plan, workplace risk assessment (Evaluierung), emissions forecasts: all prepared so that the authority waves it through in the first round.
- 3
Preliminary consultation with the authority
Before the formal submission, I seek a conversation with the authority. What exactly do they want to see? Where are the stumbling blocks from the experts’ point of view? That saves weeks during the procedure.
- 4
Hearing and official decision
Technical support at the on-site hearing (Augenscheinsverhandlung), coordination with the authority’s official experts, statements on objections from neighbours, through to the final and binding official decision and commissioning.
Related services
Technical project execution
Technical project management for investment, construction and conversion projects: before, during and after the official procedure.
Learn moreSelf-inspection under §82b GewO
Periodic inspection of your permitted operating facility by a suitably qualified expert, documented so that it stands up to the authority.
Learn more
New project, conversion or change? Where do you stand?
Phone me or book a first call. I will take a look, without obligation, at whether a procedure is due, which documents are needed and how we can get the matter through the authority pragmatically.