Venues will soon be able to ask patrons for proof of coronavirus vaccinations

Everything from pubs to stadiums will soon be allowed to ask patrons for proof they’ve been vaccinated as the nation battles the Delta strain.

Pubs, hairdressers and even sports stadiums could soon be allowed to ask patrons to show proof of Covid vaccination as a condition of entry but only if the states agree to enact new public health orders.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has again confirmed the controversial idea is a live option currently being weighed by the national cabinet.

But he stressed it is currently illegal to ask customers their vaccination status and business owners should not put any restrictions in place until any future reforms are finalised and enacted.

“The law doesn’t allow for that, I should stress. I mean unless there’s a public health order. Just like it wouldn’t allow someone to be stopped from going to a venue. That’s my advice,” the Prime Minister told 5AA radio in Adelaide.

“But state governments can put those in place. Phase B of the plan is all about ensuring that those who have been vaccinated do get exempted from restrictions.”

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Venues could soon ask for vaccination proof. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Attending a footy game could soon require proof of double vaccination. Picture: Jono Searle/Getty Images

RELATED: Australia to hit next stage of Covid road map with 70 per cent vaccinated

On Friday, the Prime Minister outlined a new road map for the Covid recovery that requires all the states to get to a 70 per cent target for vaccinations.

But it’s under the second phase of that road map known as ‘Phase B’ that “special rules” would allow greater freedoms for the vaccinated when the vaccination rate reaches 80 per cent in state jurisdictions.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce warned on Sunday that some business owners wanted the right to ask customers if they have been vaccinated.

“People in private enterprise are going to say ‘look I’ve got rights here too’,” Mr Joyce told Sky News.

“’If you want to come into my barber shop, or my childcare facility …then I have a right to say, maybe, have you been inoculated’?

“And if you say you haven’t, I have got a right as the owner of the shop to say I can’t have you sitting in a seat next to someone who has.”

The Prime Minister said it was “a fair question” and an issue that was being considered by national cabinet.

“It’s one that state governments would ultimately have to make decisions on because they are the only ones who can. Those powers don’t exist at a Commonwealth level,’’ Mr Morrison said.

“They are certainly things being discussed by the state premiers and myself - whether that is a way they wish to proceed.We will talk to the health professionals and the economic advisers.”

Mr Morrison said enforcing the powers would fall to the states and territories. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

In France, thousands have taken to the streets in recent weeks over new vaccine passports that propose to ban entry to cafes and public transport for the unvaccinated.

National cabinet is also considering whether vaccinated people can have greater freedoms during any future lockdowns to avoid stay at home orders.

“It’s simple. If you’re vaccinated you are less of a public health risk. You’re less likely to get it, you’re less likely to be hospitalised and you’re less likely to die from it. So in the circumstances it only stands to reason there will be exemptions for you,’’ the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister said that the vaccination targets of 70 per cent and then moving to 80 per cent were not too high and were based on the medical advice.

“The whole country needs to get to 70 per cent,‘’ he said. ”If you’re over the age of 60, I encourage you please go and talk to your GP. The AstraZeneca has saved millions of lives around the world.

And he warned the Delta strain had rewritten the rule books for the states that had previously relied on contact tracing alone.

“Delta moves too quickly now. So, it completely changes things,‘’ he said.

Authorities are urging people to get vaccinated. Picture: Ishara Kodikara/AFP