ChooseCBR voucher scheme to boost pre-Christmas spending, ACT govt says

But the program has again struck teething problems, with reports of users struggling to log on to the registration website on Wednesday morning.

About 17,000 people have already signed up to the government's trial program, which will give locals and visitors access to daily vouchers to redeem at businesses across retail, tourism, accommodation, arts and recreation, personal services and hospitality.

An ACT government spokeswoman said it had received reports on Wednesday morning that the website was working slowly amid a "large spike in activity".

She said the government had worked with the software developer to ensure the website could handle a surge in capacity, after it crashed following the opening of registrations on November 23.

"This was 'stress tested' yesterday and results indicated there was capacity to manage the anticipate surge," the spokeswoman said.

"There has been a large surge in community support for this initiative and we're working hard to resolve the issues."

The ChooseCBR program will run until December 21 or until the initial $500,000 fund is exhausted.

"Businesses across Canberra have had a tough year," Minister for Business and Better Regulation Tara Cheyne said.

"We want to really kick start our economy as we go into 2021, drive investment and create more jobs, and ChooseCBR is one of the ways we will do that."

Ms Cheyne said every $1 spent on the program by the ACT government would benefit businesses to the tune of $4-6 dollars, meaning the ChooseCBR initiative could inject up to $3 million into the local economy in the pre-Christmas period.

"Canberrans are so supportive of Canberra businesses," she said.

"We all know the importance of shopping local after what we have collectively been through this year."

The ACT government plans to review this month's trial before a second rollout worth $2 million in 2021.

Eligible businesses can still sign up to the voucher scheme at choosecbr.act.gov.au.