NSW offers physical Covid-safe check-in cards for people without smartphones

Members of the community who struggle with technology have been offered some reprieve from having to use a phone or computer to check themselves into businesses.

A special check-in card is making it easier for people with difficulties using technology to check in at major retailers like Woolworths and Bunnings.

The Australian-first technology allows people who don’t own a smartphone or have difficulty using one to still check into venues in compliance with Covid-safe rules.

NSW Customer Service Minister MP Victor Dominello. Picture: VictorDominelloMP/Facebook

“A huge shout out to Woolworths and Bunnings for their can do attitude and early adoption of this important inclusion piece,” Mr Dominello said in a post to Facebook.

Anyone can apply to receive a check in card via Service NSW, which can then be either scanned by venue employees or used to manually enter check in information.

“So far, we have received 111,608 customer card requests, and the card has been used over 4500 times,” said Mr Dominello, who labelled them “inclusion cards”.

Service NSW said the cards served as an alternative to smart phone or website checking in.

Check-in cards are an alternative to checking in with a smart phone. Picture: Getty Images

Physical copies can be mailed out to recipients, or downloaded and printed for immediate use.

Every card comes with a unique QR code containing its recipient’s registered contact details.

Businesses that don’t have a device that can scan the QR code will need to manually input the customer’s details into the Service NSW web form.

The check-in information is held for 28 days for the purpose of NSW Health’s contact tracing.

While the cards have been widely celebrated, it is not mandatory for businesses to accept them.

NSW Residents wanting to apply for a card can do so here.