How Victoria's COVID-19 vaccination check-in app works

While New South Wales has leapt ahead of Victoria in reopening from COVID-19 lockdown today, its southern neighbour is leading in the digital innovation stakes.

From today, the vaccination status of residents is integrated into the Service Victoria app.

In NSW, the integration of vaccination status into the Service NSW check-in app is yet to launch for all residents. Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello announced on the weekend it was due to launch next week after a small regional trial is completed.

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Both systems are set to work exactly the same way, allowing users who choose to share their vaccination status within their state QR check-in app to do so by linking their certificate from the Express Plus Medicare app.

Anyone who is double vaccinated for COVID-19 and has a MyGov account can download the Express Plus Medicare app, and view a digital version of their vaccination certificate.

This certificate can be viewed within the Medicare app, saved to a Google or Apple Digital wallet, and now can also be shared to a "check-in" app.

Today, only Service Victoria is an option for users, with Service NSW and others to be added as and when the states are ready.

Once you choose to "share" your vaccination status within the check-in app, you can show venues you are visiting that you are both checked in and vaccinated on just one screen in one app.

The confirmation screen for the Service Victoria app contains an animated background, making it harder to fake, though Service Victoria says that you may still be asked to show other identification.

This will be the choice of venues.

Service Victoria also says "Venues don't keep or store any of your check-in info or your vaccination status" which will be peace of mind for many users.

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The integration of Federal Government data from the National Immunisation Register through MyGov into state-built apps is a huge advance for inter- and intra-governmental co-operation on a digital level - perhaps never seen before.

Trials of the integration in the Service NSW app are due to end this week, with vaccination status sharing across apps available to NSW residents within a week.