Victorian government still building new QR code checking system despite reopening

As Melbourne businesses reopen after an agonising lockdown, the government is still working on a key piece of technology to defend against the virus.

Premier Daniel Andrews says a statewide QR (quick response) code check-in system will be “the best in the country” when it is rolled out to Victorian businesses.

He said the tool, which would allow users to scan a barcode at venues to register their attendance, would not be based on the same technology as the ACT and NSW systems that had worked seamlessly throughout the pandemic.

It comes as major industries such as retail, hospitality and beauty services reopened in Melbourne on Wednesday, with many businesses developing their own online booking and scanning systems.

“We moved to an entirely different platform and we note that the ACT system was not best for our system,” Mr Andrews said.

“You have to build one that works seamlessly with the new IT platform we have built that has helped deliver the numbers and to an end, not doing pen and paper long-form interviews.

“NSW have, as I’m advised, moved to a universal QR system only quite recently, and I think that’s a function that they have because they have been open for longer and taken more steps that we have. We will get to where they are, but it will take a while.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the state’s new QR code checking system will be the best in the country. Picture: Daniel Pockett/NCA NewsWire

Mr Andrews talked up Victoria’s technology as the country’s best.

“I‘m confident we will get a product that fits seamlessly into what I think is probably the best IT product anywhere in the country,” he said.

“In the meantime, I’m grateful to all of the many operators who are taking this very seriously and will keep meticulous records or use pre-booking or whatever they use.”

The ACT’s QR app, which has been in use since early September, allows users to scan into venues like restaurants and shops.

The technology is similar to what is used by NSW and countries including New Zealand and South Korea.

It allows contact tracers immediate access to information about who was in a venue at a specific time, speeding up the contact tracing process in the event of a positive COVID-19 case.

Scott Pickett’s Estelle restaurant in Northcote is one of many bsinesses opening with their own QR code checking system. Picture: Paul Jeffers/NCA NewsWire

NSW strongly encourages businesses to ask customers to use the government app. NSW and the ACT store the data for 28 days in both and mandate that it is not to be used for purposes other than contact tracing.

When asked if the Victorian government had had conversations about using the same tool as the ACT, Mr Andrews said he was not in a position to comment “definitively” but happy to find out.

Victoria snapped its streak of two days without any new infections or deaths on Wednesday after recording two cases and two further fatalities.

The Premier revealed the two cases were close contacts of positive cases connected to the contained outbreak in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, and there was “no risk to public exposure”.

The two deaths, which bring the state’s death toll to 819, were fatalities from weeks ago, Mr Andrews said.