Mandatory booster on the cards for hospitality in Victoria

A no booster, no entry policy could be potentially on the cards for Victorians who haven’t had their third jab.

No booster, no entry.

This could soon be life for Victorians who have not received their booster shot and want to dine at cafes, restaurants and pubs.

The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions met with hospitality and retail groups on Friday to discuss how making the Covid-19 booster mandatory might affect their staff and customers, The Age reported.

A third jab could be required meaning that unvaccinated and double-jabbed residents would no longer be allowed to visit hospitality venues.

During discussions, the group, which included National Retail Association, Restaurant and Catering Industry Australia and the Franchise Council of Australia, also spoke about the future of QR codes.

Victorians who have not received their booster shot could soon be rejected from dining at cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs.

There were talks about their usefulness, with health authorities less reliant on the app as they scale back on contact tracing and shift their focus to high risk close contacts.

According to data obtained by The Age, there’s been a huge drop in Victorians using the Services Victoria app to check into business and venues, with 800,000 fewer QR code check-ins recorded during the second week of January compared to the first week of the year.

National Retail Association chief executive Dominique Lamb told the publication making a booster shot mandatory would only lead to more customers lashing out at staff — and in turn put increased pressure on struggling businesses.

Premier Daniel Andrews said they were ‘close’ to changing the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ to mean three doses – and not two. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

“It’s a very polarising topic,” she told The Age. “When this was in place last time we had members who were having human excrement smeared on their windows, they were hiring their own security and people were being attacked. We have great concerns about having to go through that again.”

She described the use of QR codes a deterrent to shoppers and a drain on resources.

Meanwhile, Restaurant and Catering Industry Australia chief executive Wes Lambert said that if the definition of fully vaccinated does change to three doses, it should not bedone in a way that puts more pressure on the hospitality industry.

It comes as the premier announced people in his state would also able to get a booster dose within three months of their second dose. Picture: istock

At a press conference last week, Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters they are “close” to a change in policy that will reflect that “in order to be fully protected, you need three doses”.

“This really is a three-dose project, to be properly protected you need three doses,” Mr Andrews said.

“It’s not two plus an optional extra, it’s three doses in order to be protected.

“Let’s hope that our national framework reflects that practical, scientific reality.”

Mary Aldred, the chief executive of the Franchise Council of Australia, said there’s a lot of detail yet to be worked through, both for workers and consumers in particular industry sectors — and the government needed to clarify which industries and consumers would be required to have a third dose.

It comes as the premier announced people in his state would also able to get a booster dose within three months of their second dose.

The change was planned for the end of the month but has been brought forward, meaning 1.2 million more Victorians have become eligible for their booster.

“Nothing is more important than getting a third dose and getting vaccinated,” Mr Andrews said.

“It’s critical to us getting to a peak and starting to see these numbers come off and getting back to something like normal.”

As of Saturday, Victoria recorded 16,016 cases and 20 Covid deaths.