From Friday, producing proof of double vaccination won't be compulsory within the ACT - though some restaurants, bars or other sorts of venue may ask for it as a condition of entry.
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But Canberrans will need to show they've been fully vaccinated to get entry to a raft of places over the New South Wales border. A single jab won't be enough, and just asserting that you've had the double dose won't be enough either.
The experience of Queanbeyan is that newly-open establishments will demand to see the proof, either on paper or on your phone.
Some pubs ask at the bar before serving. Others, like Kmart and Anglicare, had people at the door inspecting the certificates - a bit like COVID bouncers. No proof, no entry was the rule.
Proof of vaccination for entry is in addition to checking in with the QR code at the door.
There is no special ACT vaccination certificate. You will need the federal one.
You will save yourself a lot of time if you have already downloaded it before setting out. In Queanbeyan, a print-out was accepted but downloads to phones were easier.
Should you want to travel to the South Coast, for example, it will pay dividends in terms of time and angst if you register for myGov and get access on your phone.
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Download the apps and download the certificate if you want to avoid fiddling on your phone with all the fuss of reset passwords and the like, particularly if you are far from home and a desktop.
You can store the certificate wherever you store important documents on your phone. There will be different places for Apple and Android devices.
In Queanbeyan, just showing the download was enough. You might think of emailing the attachment to yourself so you can open the email and display when needed.
If you already have an online Medicare account, there are four stages:
- Sign in to myGov on the phone or tablet where you want to store the certificate.
- Select "Go to Medicare" under "Proof of COVID-19 vaccination".
- Select "View history".
- Select your name and then either "View immunisation history" or "View COVID-19 digital certificate" and download the pdf file. There is also the option to "Save to phone" (on Android) and Add to Apple Wallet (on Apple iOS) to create a shortcut on your homescreen, and "Share with check in app". As of time of writing, this option has only been linked to Service Victoria. The ACT has no plans to add proof of vaccination to the Checkin CBR app.
You can also use the Medicare app.
- Sign into the Medicare app
- Click 'Proof of vaccinations' under 'Services'
- Click 'View history'
- Scroll down and select 'View COVID-19 digital certificate' (you can also see that you've had the jab by clicking 'view immunisation history statement'
- Select 'save to phone' OR go to the share button in the top right-hand corner and email the document to yourself.
If you haven't already set up an online Medicare account, you'll need to join your Medicare to your MyGov you'll need to do that first. And that takes a bit of doing. The steps are outlined here on the Services Australia website. You'll need to know things such as the last date you visited a doctor, the location of that practice and the name of your doctor.
There is a tool here to help you set up your online accounts if you haven't established them already.
If you don't have a Medicare account, it gets complicated.
You will need what's called an Individual Healthcare Identifier. It's basically a way of identifying you in the system whatever your circumstances. If you are not in Medicare and you don't have an IHI, you need to apply for it.
If you're using the IHI service through myGov:
- Sign in to your myGov account using a browser on your device.
- Select Individual Healthcare Identifiers service.
- Select View immunisation history on the Immunisation history tile.
- Select either Add to Apple Wallet or Save to phone for Google Pay.
If you're using an iOS device, you can use either the Safari or Chrome browsers. If you're using an Android device, you need to use the Chrome browser.
If you don't want to - or can't - go online, it is possible to do it with a paper form, but it will take longer.
Services Australia says: "If you don't have identification documents, you can get an IHI using the Request an Individual Healthcare Identifier form."
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