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fit4internet in Austria – Raising Digital Competences
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Understanding the Digital Competence Framework

Here you can find further information on what "being digitally competent" means.

Austria has developed its own competence framework for digital skills. It is called "Digital Competence Framework for Austria - DigComp AT" and is based on the European Reference Framework for Digital Competences (DigComp 2.1).

The Competence Framework serves to classify and compare digital skills. This enables us to agree on the knowledge and skills needed for the digital world of work and everyday life:

The current model: DigComp 3.0 AT (2026)

Since 2026, DigComp 3.0 AT has been the current version of Austria's Digital Competence Model. It is the consistent further development of established Austrian practice – building on two model generations (DigComp 2.2 AT and 2.3 AT), extensive stakeholder consultation and research. DigComp 3.0 AT was developed in coordination with the co-authors of DigComp 2.3 AT and as an expert contributor to DigComp 3.0 EU at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.

The model describes digital competence across 6 competence areas with 30 individual competences and 8 NQF-mappable proficiency levels. It is fully compatible with DigComp 3.0 EU and the National Reference Framework for Digital Competences (NRDK), while being more consistently and practically aligned with the needs of an inclusive labour market and everyday company practice in the digital transformation.

What makes DigComp 3.0 AT distinctive:

  • Competence Area 0 – Foundations, Access and Digital Understanding is retained as a dedicated, upstream area. It makes the prerequisites of digital participation – technical, cultural and social – explicitly visible, learnable and assessable.
  • Digital Humanism as a guiding principle: with the new individual competence 0.5 "Using digital technologies in a human-centred, reflective and responsible way", made explicitly learnable and assessable for the first time – and running as a common thread through all six areas.
  • New competence 5.5 "Recognising opportunities and creating value and benefit through digital technologies" – the bridge to entrepreneurial action.
  • AI literacy transversally anchored across all six competence areas.
  • Full compatibility with DigComp 3.0 EU: the numbering and sequencing of competences have been aligned with the EU model; the Austrian additions (Competence Area 0 as well as 2.7, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5) are each placed at the end of the sequence and thereby fully retained.
  • NQF-oriented proficiency levels from "elementary" to "innovative" – directly mappable to the eight levels of the National Qualifications Framework and already used in practice (incl. AMS, qualification providers, companies).

>>> To the interactive model <<<

>>> Guide (short version, PDF) <<<
Full publication: Domany-Funtan, U., Schmölz, A., Motschnig, R., Schwarz, S. & Bieg, T. (2026): Digitales Kompetenzmodell für Österreich: DigComp 3.0 AT (2026). Medienimpulse, 64(1). https://doi.org/10.21243/mi-01-26-29

The six competence areas of DigComp 3.0 AT:

The complete, interactive DigComp 3.0 AT model – with the model comparison, all competences, proficiency levels, learning outcomes and glossary – is available at www.digcomp.at.

The previous version: DigComp 2.3 AT (2022)

From late 2022 until the release of DigComp 3.0 AT (2026), DigComp 2.3 AT was the authoritative version of Austria's Digital Competence Model. It expanded Competence Area 0 to four individual competences, added publication and transaction competences, and was anchored as a viable national standard in the National Reference Framework for Digital Competences (NRDK). The materials below (cheat sheets, guidance notes) remain usable as practice resources of the previous version; the substantive further development is reflected in DigComp 3.0 AT.

The following requirements were integrated into this version of the competence framework: conscious engagement with digitality, skills for legally compliant digital publication and sustainable use of resources in IT operations.

Accordingly, the model described 27 individual competences (pdf) in the following six competence areas:

The eight competence levels were also differentiated more precisely with the DigComp 2.3 AT version:

  1. Elementary FOUNDATION
  2. Solid FOUNDATION
  3. Solid INTERMEDIATE
  4. Upper INTERMEDIATE
  5. Comprehensively ADVANCED
  6. In-depth ADVANCED
  7. Strategically HIGHLY SPECIALISED
  8. Innovatively HIGHLY SPECIALISED

For a more in-depth understanding of the levels of competence, a guide to understandig the levels is available.

Read more about the background of version 2.3 AT in this comprehensive report (a barrier-free accessible version of the report is in progress).
The following "cheat sheets" give a brief and concise overview on the areas of competence. The following content is currently only available in German:

 

Cheat sheet DigComp 2.3 AT - Edition EVERYDAY LIFE (as of 2025)
Cheat sheet DigComp 2.3 AT - Edition WORKPLACE (as of 2025)

 

The presvious version: DigComp 2.2 AT

The Digital Competence Framework for Austria already defined digital competences in version 2.2. in six areas and eight competence levels. Within these areas of competence, the version DigComp2.2 AT provides 25 individual competences (PDF). This version is the basis for all referenced courses and news or learning modules until March 2023.

The eight competence levels were titled as follows in DigComp 2.2. AT:

  • Foundation (level 1 and 2)
  • Intermediate (levels 3 and 4)
  • Advanced (level 5 and 6)
  • Highly specialised (levels 7 and 8)

Further reading: Details and background information on the DigComp 2.2 AT (pdf) (as of July 2021)

The following "cheat sheet" gives a brief and concise overview on the areas of competence. The following content is currently only available in German:

Cheat Sheet Seite 1Cheat sheet Dig Comp 2.2 AT as a Poster (pdf) (as of April 2019)

Cheat sheet DigComp 2.2 AT separate A4 Pages (pdf) (as of April 2019)