With NSW lockdown restrictions officially eased on Monday 11 October it’s important to know how you can show your vaccination status to enter reopened businesses.
According to NSW and Australian Government websites there are two ways to show proof of your vaccinations. These are either through the use of an immunisation history statement or by showing a COVID-19 digital certificate.
An immunisation history statement appears on a sheet of paper, with your name, date of birth, and a list of all the vaccinations you have received, so long as they are recorded with the Australian Immunisation Register.
These statements have existed for some time before COVID-19 as they were used for childcare and school enrolment and for employment at certain workplaces.
This is the only way of proving your vaccination status without using a smartphone, computer, or any other digital device.
Your vaccination provider can print your statement for you, or you can call the Australian Immunisation Register on 1800 653 809 from Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. Please note the Australian Immunisation Register is experiencing longer than usual phone wait times and statements can take up to 14 days to arrive in the post.
The other way to show proof of vaccination is through the COVID-19 digital certificate. Once you have had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccination an email or text will be sent to your myGov inbox to notify the arrival of your certificate. This certificate can be added to smartphone ‘wallets’. Click here for detailed instructions on how to do so. If you share a phone with someone it is possible to add multiple certificates to the one smartphone ‘wallet’.
The digital certificate can also be printed out and presented to businesses in paper form.
The Service NSW app, that is used to scan QR codes to check into businesses, will also be updated soon to display your vaccination status when you check in to a non-essential business. This will mean people will only have to use one app to check in and prove vaccination status.
If you have a medical reason for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccination, reopened businesses must accept either an NSW Health medical contraindication form completed by a registered medical practitioner, or a medical clearance notice issued by NSW Health.
You must see your doctor to enquire as to how to obtain these forms.
Although it is disappointing that there are not many practical offline methods of proving vaccination status, at the time of writing, the NSW Government has said that restrictions should ease by 1 December, and this may mean that some businesses may not ask people to provide proof of vaccination.
Here’s hoping that the paper forms of vaccination proof last until December.
