The federal government is putting the long-planned marriage ban under 18 years and the ban on cousin marriages on the way. A corresponding government bill will be forwarded to parliament, and the National Council decision on the project is to take place before summer.

The ban is to apply, according to the government’s plans, from August 2025, said Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ) before today’s cabinet meeting. From now on, only those who have reached the age of 18 may marry. The same applies to registered partnerships.

Family Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) called it a “very decisive step” to prevent child marriages. NEOS parliamentary leader Yannick Shetty said that the ban would affect, according to estimates, only a few dozen to a few hundred young people in Austria.

But it is about restricting freedom and a “massive intervention” when such a step is taken at 16 years. “We are of the opinion that a 16-year-old girl belongs at the school desk and not in front of the registry office.”

According to Statistics Austria, the number of marriages in which at least one partner is under 18 has declined sharply and is now almost negligible. While almost 50 cases were registered in 2015, there were only six in 2024.

No marriage between closer relatives any more
A marriage ban will in future also apply to unions between relatives up to the fourth degree of the collateral line. This will thus make, for example, a marriage between cousins or between niece and uncle no longer possible.

It will also be possible for the public prosecutor’s office in future again to sue for annulment of a marriage or registered partnership if marriageability is lacking. The previous ÖVP–Green government had already agreed on an almost identical draft law, but the project was not implemented.