NSW to introduce covid check-in card

The NSW government will introduce a COVID-Safe check-in card that can be scanned at supermarkets and shops as an alternative to smartphone check ins.

Victor Dominello

Digital and customer service minister Victor Dominello says customers will be able to register for the card via the Service NSW website, download and print it or have a plastic card mailed out.

Contact details will be stored within a QR code on the card, which will populate the webform when scanned by the business. 

The card will make checking in faster and safer and put an end to manual check-ins, Mr Dominello says.

“We want to make sure the COVID-Safe check-in as safe and as accessible as possible, which is why we’re introducing the COVID-19 check-in card,” Mr Dominello said.

“The days of seeking out somewhere to manually sign in with pen and paper should be an absolute last resort.”

Meanwhile the government has also introduced updates to the Service NSW app.

The first means people will be able to choose to extend their app login time by up to four hours removing the need to constantly re-enter their PIN.

 It also means they won’t have to remove masks to reactivative face ID so often.

The second enhancement to the app will allow people to review their check in history and add or amend check out times.

The additional features will be available from mid August.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@governmentnews.com.au.  

Sign up to the Government News newsletter

47 thoughts on “NSW to introduce covid check-in card

  1. Great idea. I have a smart phone but it doesn’t support the app. When will the check-in card be available and do I need to do anything to get it.

  2. Are there going to be scanners placed at the entry to stores to scan these cards. At the moment you are required to scan BEFORE you enter a store

    1. There certainly should be. I have only found one shop locally that can scan the cards, others – including Woolworths and North Nowra Post Office – haven’t even heard of it. Such a good idea but could the government please tell the shops…….

      1. I work at a bank and we have had several elderly customers present with the new card all very excited that they have it however we have had no instruction on how to except this card and we do not have scanners to scan them. Yet another good idea not carried out very well. Please update the business community with what you require them to do.

  3. I think this is a great idea, especially for older Australians that don’t have a mobile phone or are not comfortable using the present QR code.
    I would love one sent to me and my husband, I am hoping that you may be able to do that for me. We are older Australians that are not very computer literate. Thanking you.

    1. We need plastic covered cards sent to us in the mail.
      I have a QR code but my husband is 92 and can’t go out without me .
      He does not know how to use the mobile phone.
      We can only go alone to shop to stay within the health guidelines.
      So I have to go to do all the shopping and my back is bad .
      We used to go together to help each other. Mainly he would pack and lift. If others do your shopping it gets mixed up and our kids are interstate.
      I am not tech savvy enough to yo order on line.

  4. How does a business record the new personal check-in card? Will we be required to purchase a card reader?

  5. I suggested this to Service NSW 6 weeks ago why has it taken soo long. It will be much easier for us who do not have a smart phone.

  6. I think that is a great idea having that card will help immensely as I am disabled amputee in the arm and I cannot hold a smart phone and use it at the same time.

  7. Some readers have asked when the card will be available and how to register for it.

    As reported in our story, customer service minister Victor Dominello says customers will be able to register for the card via the Service NSW website and then download and print it, or have a plastic card mailed out to their address. The card will be available from mid-August.

  8. This is a brilliant idea. As an elderly couple on the pension we could not afford hundreds of dollars to buy a phone we could have no other use for.

  9. The people of Australia deserve the right to learn to live with Covid like the rest of the world not have the government lock us down like criminals.

    1. I, and my family, also have the right to live in safety because of the lockdown and not have to worry about people wandering around, willy nilly with the virus and passing it on to others. You may be a law abiding citizen and do the right thing but you only have to look at last nights fines, 500

      I, and my family, also have the right to live in lockdown, knowing this is helping keep us safe as possible from the Covid Virus. You may be a law abiding citizen and do the right thing but just look at the 500 plus fine from last night, so many people do not obey the law putting the rest of us at risk from catching this Covid Virus.

  10. I hope that the relevant identifying data will be encrypted, for privacy, in case the card should be lost.

    1. Some readers have asked when the card will be available and how to register for it.

      As reported in our story, customer service minister Victor Dominello says customers will be able to register for the card via the Service NSW website and then download and print it, or have a plastic card mailed out to their address. The card will be available from mid-August.

      1. Is there a phone number for people without a computer to apply?
        Is it possible for them to get it over the counter or on the pension card ?

          1. I don’t understand why the concierge can’t sign them out in small stores, they know how long the customer is there for . Maybe a section of 5min, 30 min etc .
            Most of our customers are only there for milk, bread etc. then they leave .
            This would also be less load on the contact tracers.

  11. A perfect idea. it is really needed .
    A lot off elderly customers have a lot of trouble remembering their own phone number.
    It would be a good idea to send a card to every pensioner and non English speaking Australians

  12. Why do you need to extend the app log in to stay open for 4 hours. Surely the idea is log in get what you need and log out. Then stay home. Or is it to allow everyone to wander around shopping centres for 4 hours?

  13. Hello
    With the QR check in cards are you required to check out as well, if so where do you do that.
    Thank you

    1. I run a covid safe take away food business and have no idea how to check someone in using this card , neither do any of the surrounding businesses where I am located .
      A call to Service NSW was no help . They directed me to a web site that provided no answers . The best they could come up with was to keep checking my emails as I should receive further instructions that way . I have already had someone present their card and have had to sign them in manually
      The incompetence of the NSW government knows no bounds.

      1. Hey there I think I have figured out how to scan these cards!!!

        go to ​
        Service NSW business online form there should be a link there where you download your qr code.

        Click on the online form and there should be a button there that says scan card!!

        I cant give you my link as it is registered to my business!!

  14. So does every customer need to sign out via the same process as well ….. and is every business with a QR code required to have the mobile scanner to scan the cards?

  15. I don’t have a smartphone, so I created my check-in card yesterday. All very easy to do.
    However, there is one major flaw in this – the business needs a scanner to be able to read your check-in card. I rang my local IGA to ask if they had a scanner and they didn’t know what I was talking about. When I explained they said “no, we don’t have a scanner”. I can’t imagine that any of the other smaller businesses in my vicinity have any better idea of this.
    Yet again the government roll out something that they obviously haven’t thought through.
    I expect that most businesses will have scanners in mid-2022. Marvellous!!

  16. Again, another good idea half baked.
    What support is there for venues and supply of the ‘scanner’?
    What sort, the specification, does it need to be online, etc etc.
    Or does the shop keeper use a QR-Code app on THEIR phone to capture the customer’s new fandangled personal QR-Code.
    Be just easier to get it tattooed on the forehead wouldn’t it Victor?

  17. I’m amazed and at the same time very frustrated that this card check-in system was not introduced from the “get-go”. It’s far more practical than using a smart phone which many older people simply don’t have or even know how to use. Why is it government policies always seem to only take the younger generation into account and continually forget that older people don’t have the knowledge of, or access to, the latest mobile technology? Let’s hope next time there’s a similar decision to be made, that ALL age groups are catered for right from the start and not left as an after-thought. As it turned out, I felt forced to buy a second-hand smart phone and teach myself how to use it. But the one I bought still did not take the Covid app. So then I had to buy a newer model that did take the app. But I wouldn’t have bothered if the check-in card had already been available. It was a lot of money to fork out when trying to survive on the aged pension and it now appears that buying those two phones was a complete and utter waste of time and money anyway.

  18. Great idea in theory………….printed it off, tried to use it in a few different Coles and Woolies.
    None of the stores have a scanner……some knew nothing about it and I was asked to write my details down.
    Is the scanner going to be at the front of every store so people can just zap it as they walk in.?
    Something fast and quick like the Opal card

  19. I have got the card for my dad issue is no shop owners , coles etc know what to do with check in cards.
    Maybe you need to be setting up shop owners and coles etc or the card is pointless

  20. Would be good to know what data is collected, how long will it be stored, who can see/analyse it and can I edit my own data set???

  21. I live in the ACT and came across this article last night, what a good idea. It has cost me close to $1,000 to get a smart phone, have it set up etc. Have you considered including details of your Covid-19 Digital Certificate as well. That way the person can also prove that they have been vaccinated as well.

  22. The personal card is a great idea and I got one as soon as I was told about it. The thing is stores like Coles and Woolworths have no idea what I am talking about when I present my covid ID card to be scanned. So, now I just have my name and phone number written down on a slip of paper so the attendant monitoring access to these stores manually types in this info onto his Ipad. You may as well just keeping manually writing it down yourself on a check in list.

  23. The QR card is useless if the business doesn’t have a scanner. I was not able to use it at my local IGA or Coles where I need it most at present.

  24. You can scan it using the Business’s web form but need a device with a camera. It works on an iPad for example, but not a PC without a camera (even though the PC in question had a QR code reading scanner).

    Much faster than typing in the information.

  25. I got the card , but it does nothing at kmart check in ! Nor can it ne used as non digital proof of vax ! Hopless

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required