First identify whose rights and duties are affected
Record the business concerned, your role, the case reference and the outcome you seek. This shows whether the first issue is a claim, ownership, directors’ duties or an acquisition.
Focus area
Reorganisation and restructuring
Distinguish the ReO framework, reorganisation proceedings and opened insolvency proceedings.
Prepare your documents
What should you clarify before the review?
Answer two questions about your role and the documents available. The result identifies missing records and prepares the next steps for individual review.
Which role best describes your position?
Your answers
Review the documents
The documents are ready for focused legal review
With organised records, the legal question can be tested against the current procedural status and applicable law.
Close the documentary gaps first
Secure the contract, payment records, court notice and communications before making a legal or commercial decision.
Restructuring is not a single procedure. The Austrian Restructuring Code, reorganisation proceedings under the Insolvency Code and an out of court workout differ in their requirements, participants and limits. This overview distinguishes the three paths without recommending one.
The current liquidity position, probable or actual insolvency, creditor structure and feasibility of the measures must be examined. The restructuring readiness check organises documents but does not select a procedure. Core terms are explained in the restructuring glossary.
ReO, IO reorganisation proceedings and out of court workouts compared
The matrix describes legal function and the usual review framework. It does not replace an insolvency assessment or a case specific choice of procedure.
| Review point | Restructuring under the ReO | Reorganisation proceedings under the IO | Out of court workout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Objective | Avert insolvency and secure viability through restructuring measures. | Conduct insolvency proceedings with a simultaneously filed admissible reorganisation plan. | Achieve a consensual economic reorganisation through contractual agreements. |
| Requirements | Debtor application, probable insolvency and a viable restructuring plan or suitable concept. | Application to open insolvency proceedings and application for acceptance of an admissible reorganisation plan under section 167 IO. | Consent of the required counterparties and sufficient time and funding to negotiate and implement the arrangement. |
| Participants | Debtor, affected creditors, court and, if appointed, a restructuring practitioner. | Debtor, insolvency creditors, court and insolvency or reorganisation administrator. | Debtor and those creditors, financiers, shareholders or counterparties whose consent is required. |
| Documents | Restructuring plan or concept, 90 day financial plan, financial statements and further planning documents under section 7 ReO. | Opening application, admissible reorganisation plan and complete records of assets, funding and creditors. | Liquidity forecast, measures, creditor and security schedule and workable draft agreements. |
| Limits | No automatic stay or general release from liability. Section 25 ReO concerns defined liability consequences only while a court ordered stay is in force. | A court supervised insolvency proceeding. Its designation may be changed to bankruptcy proceedings in the circumstances set out in section 167 IO. | The agreement alone does not bind non consenting creditors. Insolvency duties and third party rights require separate analysis. |
Restructuring under the ReO
Section 1 ReO defines restructuring broadly. Measures may address assets, liabilities, capital structure, business units, a sale of the whole business and operational steps. Proceedings are opened on the debtor’s application to avert insolvency and secure viability.
Section 7 ReO requires the debtor to demonstrate probable insolvency and attach a restructuring plan or concept, a signed financial plan for the following 90 days and the required financial statements. The court may set a period of no more than 14 days solely to remedy missing statutory submissions or documents.
- Current liquidity and 90 day financial plan
- Restructuring plan or coherent concept
- Creditor groups, security and disputed positions
- Measures, funding and responsibility
Reorganisation proceedings under the Insolvency Code
Under section 167 IO, insolvency proceedings are designated as reorganisation proceedings where the debtor applies for opening, submits an admissible reorganisation plan and applies for its acceptance. Proceedings may also be opened in the event of threatened insolvency, but not while bankruptcy proceedings concerning the debtor are pending.
These are court supervised insolvency proceedings and must not be confused with the pre insolvency ReO or a contractual workout. The article on Austrian reorganisation proceedings provides further detail.
Prepare an out of court workout contractually
An out of court workout depends on negotiations and agreements with the participants required for implementation. It may combine funding, deferral, subordination, debt relief, operational measures or a sale. Without statutory binding effect for non consenting creditors, the required consents must be identified precisely.
Liquidity, security, termination rights, enforcement pressure and insolvency filing duties remain separate review strands. The article on out of court restructuring and the ReO explains the distinction.
Do not generalise stays or liability effects
Section 25 ReO excludes defined liability consequences linked to over indebtedness only while a stay of enforcement is in force and contains express exceptions. It does not create a general release from liability or blanket protection from payment, enforcement or filing duties.
The scope of a stay, affected creditors and continuing duties must be checked against the court order, current law and the actual crisis position.
Make the documentation consistent and decision ready
All three paths require reliable figures and clear responsibility. Liquidity, accounts, creditors, security, disputes, measures and funding assumptions must use the same reporting date and assumptions.
The resulting file is not an automatic recommendation. It is an auditable basis for a case specific decision by management, financiers, creditors and legal advisers.
- Liquidity status, forecast and current accounts
- Creditor schedule with security and disputes
- Measures with funding and responsible persons
- Recorded assumptions, consents and open points
Legal sources and further reading
The applicable version of the law prevails.
- Section 1 ReO: restructuring measures
- Section 7 ReO: application and remedy period
- Section 25 ReO: defined liability effects during a stay
- Section 167 IO: reorganisation proceedings
General information on Austrian insolvency law as at July 2026. The assessment depends on the individual facts and current procedural status.
Frequently asked questions
What clients often ask.
Is the ReO an insolvency proceeding? +
No. It is a distinct statutory restructuring framework intended to avert insolvency and secure viability.
What is the maximum 14 day period in section 7 ReO for? +
Only for a court ordered remedy where the application lacks required submissions or documents. It is not a general restructuring deadline.
Does the readiness check recommend a procedure or predict a dividend? +
No. It organises documents and open points. Procedure, admissibility, majorities, dividend and prospects are not assessed automatically.
Related topics
This may also be relevant to you.
Creditors in insolvency proceedings
Review the basis of the claim, evidence, schedule status and commercial next steps.
Separation rights and retention of title
Identify goods or machinery in the estate through contracts, markings and payment records.
Insolvency avoidance
Document payments and security received during the crisis and assess the relevant context.
Would you like us to review a claim, owned goods or a decision in a business crisis?
Tell us your role, the business concerned and the procedural status. We respond within one business day.
Direct line to the firm.
Address
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte GmbH Giselakai 51 5020 Salzburg
Phone
+43 662 6280000