The Australian federal government has revealed its plans for digital coronavirus vaccine certificates.
Under the plan, Australians who are inoculated against COVID-19 will be able to show their proof of vaccination certificates on smartphones. The certificates will play a key role in the rollout of vaccines with the government considering making vaccines mandatory in high-risk settings including hospitals and aged care facilities.
Planning is also underway for certificates that will be recognized by other countries in preparation for the resumption of international travel.
Stuart Robert, the minister for government services, said that the government had built a “state-of-the-art cybersecurity” system to prepare for the certificate system.
“In preparation for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Services Australia has made critical enhancements to the Australian Immunization Register, including increased system capacity so more customers can access their information on the register at the same time, new AIR functionality to capture more detailed information about vaccines given, and updating immunization history statements to show all COVID-19 vaccine doses,” he said, according to Nine Entertainment newspapers on Sunday.
“We will continue to improve our systems throughout the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to support a faster return to normal life for Australians.
“This includes making it faster and easier to securely access proof of COVID-19 vaccination, which could include improvements in how Australians store or access their immunization history statement.”
Australia is set to begin administering vaccines at the end of February with an aim of having the entire population vaccinated by October.