Professor Noel Turnbull says the vaccine certificate process is too difficult

An expert in government communications has said a “14-year-old whiz kid” could have designed a better process than what we have for downloading vaccine certificates.

Australians wanting to lap up a taste of Covid freedom are getting tangled in “clunky” and “difficult” government systems when they try to download their Covid-19 vaccination certificates.

With the revamped Service NSW QR code and vaccination status hybrid app still some weeks away people are turning to a convoluted process of linking Medicare with MyGov to download their proof of vaccination.

The certificate is needed for those wanting to enjoy life ­outside the confines of their own homes.

The federal Government has provided two ways of downloading the digital certificate: either through the MyGov website where you can download the certificate or through the Medicare Express App where it can be added to your phone’s digital wallet.

Both require applicants to navigate a minefield of complicated questions, including listing the postcode of the pharmacy where they last provided a PBS script and the ­family name of the doctor they last visited.

Political communications and advertising guru Noel Turnbull said the process would have been easier if the government “got a 14-year-old whiz kid” to produce it instead of “expensive consultancy firms”.

Political communications expert Noel Turnbull is not high on the ways to download the Covid vaccine cetificate.

“They’ve come up with an IT system that is clunky and haven’t given people simple messages about how to access the system easily,” he said.

For those having trouble answering the questions online, Medicare can assist over the phone by providing a linking code which can then be ­entered on the MyGov website to connect it to Medicare.

People with no online ­access can call the Australian Immunisation Register to get their vax statement in the mail which can work as a substitute for the digital certificate.

Originally published as Professor Noel Turnbull says the vaccine certificate process is too difficult