Vaccine passports bring ‘logistical nightmares’ for businesses hoping Queenslanders comply

Business owners and staff already dealing with Christmas demand are bracing for confrontation from Friday as requirements to check proof of vaccination come into place in Queensland.

As the strict vaccine mandate kicked off today, hospitality workers say they’re bracing for abuse with the new rules requiring patrons to show proof they’ve been double vaccinated.

One barista at a cafe on James St, Fortitude Valley, who did not wish to be named, described it as a logistical nightmare.

“It’s logistically challenging when you don’t have as many staff to check everyone,” she said.

“I haven’t received any instructions from my boss either”.

Manager of Spoon Deli Cafe on James St, Flavia Lima said she will be ensuring her customers are checking in and have a green tick next to their vaccination status.

“We will be requiring everyone to have their double dose and to check in,” Ms Lima said.

“There hasn’t been any issues so far but it’s only been the first hour”.

She said the unvaccinated can’t eat at the cafe but they can order take away

“They will need to wait outside,” she said.

The manager said she will be running around to make sure everyone is checking in and to also ensure no one is harassing her staff.

Businesses say the mandate is more complicated than just accessing people’s phones. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The public health measures are expected to create an even more arduous Christmas period for retail, hospitality, tourism and entertainment workers.

CEO of the National Retail Association Dominique Lamb said Queensland had already seen a 73 per cent increase in reported retail crime in correlation with the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We know there will be a spike, we know there has been a spike in every other state that has done this and now it’s just about ensuring our retailers get enough support during this period,” Ms Lamb said.

“It’s really important that we have strategies for staff around what to do in the event of someone behaving badly or acting aggressively towards our workers, ensuring that we have no-tolerance policies, and being prepared to call the Queensland police because they are the only ones who can enforce anything.”

Ms Lamb said the industries that were already suffering skill-shortages would foot the bill of ensuring customers were vaccinated.

Under the new measures, staff and patrons will have to be vaccinated to enter hospitality venues, sports stadiums, theme parks, festivals, government-owned galleries, museums and libraries, and indoor entertainment venues including cinemas.

Dominique Lamb, National Retail Association

Cineplex Australia chief operating officer Justin Hann said their staff had been briefed on what to do in several scenarios which may arise from ensuring compliance.

He said there were definitely heightened nerves ahead of Friday’s changes.

“It won’t only be a quick case of people flashing their phones because there are many different types of proof we can accept including paper versions and exemptions too,” Mr Hann said.

“It leads to a big issue for us because cinemas, unlike many other businesses, have hundreds of people trying to come into a session at the same time.

“This mandate just happens to coincide with the biggest movie release of the year, Spider-Man, and Christmas holidays.”

Mr Hann said they had rostered extra staff to deal with the “logistical nightmares” but once the silly season was over, the mandate may present a different challenge in the way of deterring some patrons.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind said it could be the case that people rein in their activities over the coming weeks in fear of becoming a close contact to a Covid-19 case as borders open.

But he said, for the most part, there was a positive outlook among tourism vendors who believed the majority would do the right thing by showing their vaccine proof and checking in.

“Cases are climbing in Queensland but we have to take some confidence in our vaccination rates,” Mr Gschwind said.

Restaurant and Catering Industry Association chief executive Wes Lambert was also optimistic that the new measures would be implemented without hiccups in Queensland.

“There weren’t the protests and customer push backs that we expected in Victoria and New South Wales,” he said.

“So we expect in Queensland, especially with case numbers rapidly increasing in New South Wales and staying high in Victoria, that it is the most Covid-safe way to continue to operate businesses as the borders open.”

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said business owners were however worried that as more cases came into Queensland, they would have staff going into quarantine for lengthy periods of time, impacting operations.

“There is one thing businesses can do to reduce that risk, and that is staff being vaccinated and patrons being vaccinated,” she said.

“At the end of the day, it is up to you as a business- do you want to reduce the risk or not?”