Direct Award with Prior Publication in Public Procurement

Direct award with prior publication: a purely Austrian procurement instrument with optional publication. § 41(2) BVergG 2018. Increased competition.

Definition: The direct award with prior publication is a procurement instrument set out exclusively in the Austrian Federal Procurement Act 2018, under which the contracting authority voluntarily publishes a public notice as part of a direct award in order to give interested undertakings the opportunity to submit bids and so to strengthen competition.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: § 41(2) BVergG 2018

What is a direct award with prior publication?

The direct award with prior publication is a purely Austrian procurement instrument with no counterpart in German or EU procurement law: it combines the informality of a direct award with a voluntary transparency element through a public notice.

In the classic direct award under § 41 BVergG 2018, the contracting authority selects a suitable undertaking directly without a public tender and concludes a contract with that company. With the direct award with prior publication, the contracting authority goes one step further: it publishes a public notice of its procurement intention and so gives all interested undertakings the chance to submit a bid.

This variant is voluntary; within the direct-award thresholds, the contracting authority is not obliged to publish a notice. The decision to publish a prior notice may, however, be useful for reasons of transparency, value for money or to avoid later procurement-law issues.

Significance and function

The direct award with prior publication allows contracting authorities to reach a wider supplier base even for small procurements, without taking on the full procedural burden of a formal tender.

The practical added value lies in combining two advantages: the contracting authority benefits from greater competition and broader market coverage without having to meet the formal requirements of an open procedure (minimum time limits, full documentation duties, full review rights).

Typical use cases are procurements at the upper end of the direct-award threshold where the contracting authority does not wish to run a formal procedure but still wants to obtain several bids and conduct the award in a transparent way.

Procedure:

Publication of a notice on the procurement platform (e.g. Auftrag.at)
Interested undertakings submit bids
The contracting authority assesses the bids and selects based on objective criteria
Award decision and contract conclusion

Legal basis

The direct award with prior publication is governed exclusively by § 41(2) BVergG 2018 and exists as a separate procurement instrument only in Austria; there is no direct equivalent in German or EU procurement law.

§ 41 BVergG 2018 governs direct awards below the EU thresholds. Paragraph 2 opens up the option for the contracting authority to combine a direct award with prior publication. The direct-award thresholds (up to EUR 100,000 for supply and service contracts, up to EUR 75,000 for works contracts) also apply to this variant.

In contrast to the plain direct award, the variant with prior publication gives unsuccessful bidders a stronger position in review proceedings, because publication addresses a broader bidder base and creates legitimate expectations of a competitive procedure.

Distinction from the plain direct award

Feature	Direct award	Direct award with prior publication
Notice	None	Voluntary public notice
Bidder base	Selected by the contracting authority	All interested undertakings
Competition	No formal competition	Increased competition through open invitation
Mandatory?	No (optional)	No (voluntary)
Legal basis	§ 41(1) BVergG 2018	§ 41(2) BVergG 2018

Related terms

FAQ

Is prior publication mandatory in a direct award? No. The direct award with prior publication is a voluntary option under § 41(2) BVergG 2018. Within the direct-award thresholds, the contracting authority may also opt for a plain direct award without publication.

Which procurement platforms are used for the notice? In Austria, the notice for direct awards with prior publication is typically published on the procurement platform Auftrag.at or in the Austrian official gazette. The choice of platform is at the contracting authority's discretion.

Does an unsuccessful bidder have review rights in a direct award with prior publication? The question of reviewability of direct awards is complex in Austrian procurement law. As a rule, direct awards have only limited reviewability. By voluntarily publishing a notice and so opening up the procedure, however, the contracting authority strengthens transparency and can reduce the risk of challenge.

Last updated: January 2026 All information provided without warranty. For legally binding advice please contact a law firm specialising in procurement law.