ACT government to wind back Check In CBR QR code requirements in Canberra

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the changes would focus on venues where there was a higher risk of transmission.

Under the changes, Canberrans will no longer need to check in at cafes, restaurants or retail stores.

The relaxed rules will come in place from 11.59pm this Friday.

Checking in will still be mandatory in licensed bars and pubs, registered clubs, nightclubs, strip clubs and brothels and schools and early childhood education and care.

People will also need to check in at organised events that are not ticketed, including conferences, markets, music and cultural events.

"We're in a new phase of our pandemic response and using the Check In CBR app differently will support those most at risk of exposure to COVID-19 while reducing the requirements placed on other businesses," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

Ms Stephen-Smith said work was also underway to update the app to allow for automatic notifications to users if they had been at a higher risk setting.

She said it was expected this would be ready in the next couple of weeks.

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The app is currently not being used for contact tracing purposes, after last month's Omicron surge overwhelmed the system.

There had been a steep decline in check-ins. Last month, data provided to The Canberra Times showed the number of check-ins on the app had fallen by more than a third.

Last week the Canberra Liberals called for the app to be scrapped. Opposition health spokeswoman Leanne Castley said it was frustrating that Canberrans were required to use the app when it was not being used for contact tracing.

Ms Stephen-Smith said the updated app would mean a significant change to the way it has previously been used.

"This will be a change in process where people who test positive for COVID-19, if they have checked into particular high risk locations, that data will be automatically matched," she said.

"People who checked in around the same time or have been in that location around the same time will be automatically notified that there has been a COVID-19 exposure in that higher risk location."

Ms Stephen-Smith said since the Check In CBR app's release in September 2020, the app had been downloaded more than 1.3 million times and had been used for more than 111 million check ins.

"So it really is a phenomenal effort," she said.

"But I also want to assure Canberrans that their personal check in data, and where they have been as an individual, is only held by ACT health and is only used if it is required for that contact tracing purpose.

"That data is deleted after 28 days, so it's been a very secure system.

"It's been a system that Canberrans have appreciated and trusted over this period of time and while its use is changing, it will remain an important part of our response to COVID-19."

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