Toxicological science has been increasingly focused on animal-free and mechanism-based test methods. Society and European legislation explicitly demand support for this evolution towards the realization of animal-free safety assessment. During the “First Austrian Science Coordination Workshop for In Vitro & In Silico Approaches to Safety Assessment of Chemicals and Environmental Media” 27 Austrian experts from science and public authorities presented and discussed individual research interests and developed common long term goals and practical approaches: The “Austrian Platform for In Vitro & In Silico safety science” (AIVIS) was founded to foster science collaboration and work at the science-regulatory interface, improve offerings of education, strengthen science communication and to intensify and coordinate funding in Austria.