Austria was going back to standard 16-team league for the the next season, so there were no relegated teams this year and the first 6 teams in the Second Division were promoted. And 6 teams from Third Division were going up as well without any relegated from second level. The top 2 of each one of the third division groups, the Regional leagues, were going up a notch: SV Spittal/Drau and Vorwärts Steyr (Mitte group), Badener AC and UFC Purbach (Ost), Bregenz/Dornbirn and SK Zell/See (West).
The top 6 in Second Division were as follows: Union Wells (6th with 36 points), 1. Simmeringer SC (5th with 36 points), SC Neusiedl (4th with 38 points), First Vienna FC (3rd with 42 points), SC Eisenstadt (2nd with 43 points). Austria (Klagenfurt) won the Second Division championship with 47 points. All these teams were going to play first division football in 1982-83, no doubt, success of sorts.
Without fear of relegation, the top level championship was rather equal and may be a bit disinterested – only 2 teams competed for the title, the usual suspects. Perhaps one of the least eventful championship, practically reduced to championship race between two teams.
Linzer ASK finished last with 31 points, having been bitten of goal-difference for the 9th place. It did not matter at all, of course.
SV Austria (Salzburg) was 9th.
VOEST (Linz), with 32 points, ended 8th.
Wiener Sport-Club -7th, SK Sturm (Graz) – 6th, Wacker (Innsbruck) – 5th, and FC Admira/Wacker – 4th. Just went through the ,otions, one can say.
Grazer AK topped the bulk of the disinterested league – with 38 points and negative goal-difference: 40-47.
Everything concentrated on the classic rivalry between Austria and Rapid.
Austria (Vienna) lost by 3 points – they earned 44 points, ending with the best defensive record in this championship.
Rapid (Vienna) prevailed and grabbed the title after 18 wins, 11 ties, 7 losses, 69-43, and 47 points. The best Austrian squad, lead by Hans Krankl and Antonin Panenka (Czechoslovakia). There were another 7 Austrian national team players as well, plus the Soviet import Zinchenko, so seemingly the team was really strong. But it was not a smooth run – Skocik coached the team at the beginning of the campaign, but in April 1982 was replace by his assistant Nuske, who finished the season. Nuske himself did not last after the season, but the title was won and that was all that mattered.