This past year has been a difficult one, particularly for businesses in the hospitality and entertainment industries. Temporary closures of businesses, social distancing rules and operating on limited capacity have all had a negative impact on businesses livelihoods.
The NSW and Federal Governments have launched a raft of initiatives over the last year to assist struggling individuals, families and businesses impacted by Covid 19 including JobSeeker, JobKeeper, JobMaker & JobTrainer. The latest initiative that is currently being rolled out by the NSW Government across NSW is the Dine & Discover NSW Voucher system. The program is designed to encourage people to get back out again, dine in at a restaurant and go see a show or movie… and do so on multiple occasions.
The voucher system was tested with a small number of participants at The Rocks and Broken Hill in early February 2021 and is currently in its pilot stage with a larger group of businesses in the Sydney CBD, Northern Beaches and Bega Valley as of late February 2021.
Businesses that fall outside of these areas can register now and expect customer vouchers when the scheme rolls out across the state during March 2021 sometime.
The vouchers are for use in NSW and are broken down into two categories:
Dine NSW Vouchers – Used by customers seated at your business for a dine-in meal
Discover NSW Vouchers – For eligible arts, tourism or recreational activities listed in the eligible industries below. These may be redeemed online for a physical event or attraction.
- scenic and sightseeing transport
- cinemas
- museums, galleries, and historic sites
- zoos, botanic gardens, wildlife parks and nature reserves
- performing arts operations, theatres, and entertainment centres amusement
- theme and water parks
- recreational activities such as go-karting, indoor climbing, mini-golf, billiards, bowling, or ice-rinks
- outdoor adventures
- travel agencies and tours.
NSW residents over 18 years of age will be eligible for four x $25 vouchers totalling $100. Two vouchers will be for use eating in restaurants, cafes, bars, wineries, pubs and clubs, whilst the other two x $25 vouchers are for use for entertainment and recreation, including cultural institutions, live music and art venues.
Once a business is approved as a Dine & Discover NSW business, the business will be able to accept and redeem them through the Service NSW for Business app.
Some points to note:
- These vouchers cannot be used on tobacco, alcohol or gaming.
- You can only use each voucher once including if your transaction is less than $25.
- You will also need to use the vouchers at different venues as the idea is to get people out to different businesses multiple times. Customers can combine their vouchers towards the same bill though. However, each customer can only redeem one voucher at a business per day.
- Dine NSW Vouchers can be accepted Mondays to Thursdays (excluding public holidays).
- Discover NSW Vouchers can be accepted any day of the week (excluding public holidays).
So, what do you have to do to access these vouchers? It’s quite simple. You will need access to a MyServiceNSW account and the corresponding app so you can use the vouchers digitally. Once the scheme is rolled out across NSW which is scheduled for during March sometime, you will be able to apply for and redeem them at a participating COVID-safe registered business. Exact details about where you can use them are set to be revealed before the scheme goes live. For further information please visit https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/campaign/dine-discover-nsw.
It will be wonderful to see all the restaurants, cafés and entertainment venues around the Camden, Picton, Narellan and Macarthur areas coming back to life again!
Pinnacle Tax & Accounting in Camden services Narellan, Picton, Wollondilly, Macarthur, Smeaton Grange, Oran Park, Gregory Hills areas. We welcome the opportunity to chat with you further on your businesses accounting and taxation requirements.