the agency (or the place of assignment) pays the full costs for social insurance (employee and employer shares). The time of the voluntary social year is taken into account for the pension fund (compulsory pension insurance) The volunteers have a similar legal status to apprentices. New legislation Since June 1, 2008, the legal regulations have been merged with those of the Voluntary Ecological Year in a new bill for Youth Voluntary Services. Branches of the FSJ There are different areas of operations. The services are divided into different branches: FSJ im sozialen Bereich (FSJ for social caring) FSJ in der Kultur (FSJ for cultural engagement) FSJ im Sport (FSJ for sports) FSJ in der Politik: (FSJ in politics) FSJ in der Denkmalpflege (FJD) (FSJ for preservation of historical monuments) FSJ Schule (FSJ for schools) Operational areas The operational areas for FSJ-volunteers are all social, charitable or of public utility: Services for people with disabilities Hospitals Nursing homes Retirement homes Foster homes Preservation of historic monuments Ambulatory services Youth welfare services Church communities Emergency medical services Children homes Volunteers in the FSJ The number of volunteers of the Voluntary Social Year: Austria The voluntary social year (the German terms: Freiwilliges Sozialjahr and Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr are in use) in Austria is very similar to the FSJ in Germany. Since 1968 the FSJ is organized by the “Association for the Promotion of Voluntary Social Services” (German: Verein zur Förderung freiwilliger sozialer Dienste) and is legally regulated in the Volunteer bill. The association has its seat in Vienna and its secretariat in Linz. Regional offices are located in Graz, Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg. Regular voluntary social year Young people can volunteer in the FSJ for ten to twelve months in a social institution in Austria. The areas of responsibilities are assistance for people with disabilities, for old people, children or young people or working with homeless people respectively. The working time of the volunteers is 34 hours per week. While there were around 300-400 FSJ volunteers in 2012, in 2020 about 1,100 volunteers were registered. Due to the existing conscription for military service in the Austrian Armed Forces, the voluntary social year is an substitute to the regular alternative service, called Zivildienst, since 2016. Special voluntary social year Similar to the "Special Alternative Civilian Service" (German: Außerordentlicher Zivildienst), during times of crisis or a state of emergency, men and women can again volunteer