Buy Medical Equipment in Austria

Where an Austrian equipment order begins

Austria has no coastline, so a crate from an overseas factory is usually cleared at a major EU entry point abroad and finishes its trip by rail or road. Smaller items can fly straight into Vienna, Linz or Graz. Long before that, though, an order has to clear two hurdles: can the device be supplied under Austria's Medical Devices Act of 2021, and who in the chain holds which registration?

We're MediGear, and we are registered in England and Wales as a medical equipment distributor. Our team quotes, documents and ships certified equipment for healthcare buyers in more than 80 countries. Send the requirement, and we start looking for verified makers who can supply it, along with the points an Austrian site will ask about. You get back a quote your clinical and purchasing teams can work with. Requests go through our buyers page, and nobody needs an account.

Who asks us for Austrian quotes?

Requests reach us from public, non-profit and private providers across healthcare in Austria:

• Hospital companies owned by the federal states, such as KAGes in Styria, Tirol Klinikenn and the Wiener Gesundheitsverbund, which runs Vienna's city hospitals
• University hospitals, including AKH Wien, LKH-Univ. Klinikum Graz and the Kepler Universitätsklinikum in Linz
• Non-profit and private groups such as the Vinzenz Gruppe and Mavie Med
• AUVA's trauma hospitals and its rehabilitation centres
• Dental and veterinary practices, whose X-ray rooms run on their own inspection cycle
• Medical universities equipping teaching rooms and research labs with general laboratory equipment
• Medical device companies in Austria registered as distributors in the national device register

They buy in very different ways. Publicly owned hospitals in Austria can buy through Bundesbeschaffung GmbH, the federal central buyer. Its tenders follow the 2018 procurement law and run on the ANKÖ-Vergabeportal, where e-procurement is now mandatory. A dental practice in Tyrol replacing one X-ray machine, by contrast, wants a straight quote and a date. We first determine what kind of purchase it is, because that decides what the quote must include.

BASG, the 2021 act and German-language documents

Alongside the EU Medical Devices Regulation, Austria has its own Medical Devices Act of 2021. The Austrian Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) is the authority for medical devices. The act sets the language rule: information supplied with a device must be in German, and English is allowed only for devices reserved for professional users. BASG's guidance for importers points to Articles 13 and 14 of the MDR, which set out the checks importers and distributors make before supplying a device.

Under the MDR, an importer has to be established in the EU. So who holds that role when a hospital brings a unit in from the UK or Asia is for the hospital and its own advisers to settle; EUDAMED registration of economic operators has been mandatory since May 2026. An Austrian distributor also registers with Gesundheit Österreich GmbH before it starts trading. We hold no Austrian importer or distributor registration, and we cannot give regulatory advice. Every quote states the unit's certification, so your team can check it against the medical device regulations in Austria.

X-ray licences from the federal states

Radiation work comes under the Radiation Protection Act of 2020, and every activity needs a licence before it starts. For medical and veterinary X-ray, the licensing authority is the governor of each federal state, as the health ministry explains in its notes on licensing in medicine. Where a room needs structural shielding, the process runs in two stages: a construction licence, then an operating licence.

The authority then inspects an X-ray installation every three years, or every four years for dental and veterinary units. Under the medical radiation protection rules, an acceptance test is needed before first clinical use, and again if a unit has stood unused for more than two years. A supply firm may carry out that test for the products it sells. Speak to your state office while the quote is still open, and we will send the technical data it asks for.

Grid, tests and disposables in Austria

A sound quote rests on a sound specification, so these are the checks we run with the maker for Austrian sites:

• Grid and sockets. The grid runs at a nominal 230 V and 50 Hz, and sockets take the type C and F plugs used across much of Europe. Units designed for 110 V or 60 Hz may need changes at the factory.
• Eingangsprüfung. The operator rules require an acceptance test before first use for devices such as monitors, ventilators and defibrillators. A detailed measurement protocol from the maker or supplier can cut it to a visual check.
• Single-use items. Austria permits neither reprocessing nor reuse of single-use devices, so plan your stock of disposables. Before you order, we confirm which spare parts and consumables suit the unit.
• ELGA and the network. Before installation, check with your IT team the DICOM settings of any diagnostic imaging unit, the HL7 options and anything the ELGA health record links need.

We would rather ask the maker a question before quoting than see a medical imaging system held up at commissioning.

Customs papers and crate rules for Austria

For goods from outside the EU, the customs office works from an electronic declaration and its supporting documents, so each order leaves with:

• A commercial invoice and a packing list for every crate
• Proof of origin, usually a certificate of origin
• HS codes for every line on the invoice
• The EU declaration of conformity and the CE certificates
• Instructions and labels in German, or English for professional-only devices

Wood is checked here. The Federal Office of Forests says the import checks on wood packaging from risk countries follow an EU regulation from January 2024. ISPM 15 crates must be debarked, treated and marked, and heat treatment means holding the core at 56 degrees Celsius for at least 30 minutes, though other approved treatments exist. We ask for treated, clearly stamped crates from the start rather than risk a hold at the border.

Ordering for an Austrian site

1. Brief us. Tell us the model, specification and quantity, and which hospital or practice it is for, using the RFQ form or email.
2. Read the quote. Most catalogue quotes go out within 48 hours, setting out the product, lead time, certification and route.
3. Confirm by email or letter. Until you put it in writing, nothing commits either of us.
4. Rail, road or air. Sea freight lands at a large EU port and continues by rail or road, or air freight goes straight into Vienna, Linz or Graz for smaller or urgent items.

Delivery is to the port, terminal or airport you nominate. From there it is your import: the declarant or a representative files the electronic customs declaration with Zollamt Österreich, and you arrange the last leg to site. From 1 November to 15 April, lorries over 3.5 tonnes need winter tyres, which is worth knowing for Alpine routes. Devices shipped from inside the EU cross no customs border.

Single units, lab builds and refurbished units.s

You can order a single unit on most catalogue lines, which suits a practice replacing one monitor or one autoclave. We also quote multi-line requests, such as a new ward for a provincial hospital; for a lab build, see laboratory setup. Laboratory equipment suppliers can also send us a build list, and we will quote it line by line. Theatre and reprocessing teams can browse Sterilisation and Disinfection. Our refurbished range covers pre-owned units too, and Austrian law applies its operating rules to devices that are made available again. A refurbished X-ray unit needs its acceptance test before first clinical use, just as a new one does.

Disclaimer

The information on this page is general and meant for buyers in Austria. We make no offer to supply through it, and nothing here is legal, regulatory or customs advice. Quotes are subject to what makers can supply, and no order is binding until both sides confirm it in writing. Whether a device can be supplied in Austria depends on its CE status, intended use, and the language rules of the Medical Devices Act, and X-ray equipment requires a separate licence under the Radiation Protection Act from the state authority. Clearing the goods and checking the regulatory status of your purchase are your responsibility. We act in Austria neither as an importer nor as a registered distributor.