Businesses in Geelong, regional Victoria face $10,000 fines for not checking customer addresses
Cafes and restaurants across Geelong and regional Victoria will face fines of up to $10,000 for failing to check the addresses of dine-in customers. But some locals say more stringent checks could be necessary.
Geelong
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CAFES and restaurants across Geelong and regional Victoria will face fines of up to $10,000 for failing to check the addresses of dine-in customers.
The State Government announced the new measure on Sunday in a bid to prevent Melbourne residents from dining at regional venues.
The move, which comes into effect from Monday (October 12), is aimed at reducing the risk of coronavirus cases spreading in regional Victoria.
Premier Daniel Andrews said businesses that “consciously fail to check” customers are not from metropolitan Melbourne can be fined up to $9913.
However, he said regional businesses would not be fined if they “do the right thing but are misled by someone intent on breaking the rules”.
The change comes after a COVID-19 outbreak in Kilmore was linked to a Melbourne resident who had dined at a local cafe, against existing rules.
Regional Victorian businesses have been tasked with checking the addresses of patrons since eased restrictions last month allowed restaurants and cafes to host diners.
Ty Simons, owner of Driftwood Cafe in Ocean Grove, said his business had been taking customers’ names and postcodes since reopening its dining facilities.
He said more stringent checks — such as checking driver's licence details of each patron — may be necessary to ensure compliance with the rules.
“It’s definitely something we probably need to increase our diligence on rather than sort of relying on people doing the right thing,” Mr Simons said.
“We don’t want to be the ones to do the wrong thing or allow somebody in to infect our staff and have a knock-on effect to the wider community.”
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Originally published as Businesses in Geelong, regional Victoria face $10,000 fines for not checking customer addresses