ACT government offers bigger discounts for local shoppers under expanded ChooseCBR voucher scheme - ABC News

Canberrans will soon be able to shop, dine out or watch a live show and have their fellow ratepayers pay up to half of the bill.

Key points:

• The new voucher scheme begins on June 9
• Canberrans will be able to use three vouchers per day at local businesses, worth $10, $20 and $50
• The Canberra Liberals say the earlier trial was a wasteful "dud" that failed to help businesses in outer suburbs

The ACT government will relaunch its ChooseCBR digital vouchers on June 9, after an earlier attempt in December fell short of expectations.

This time, Canberrans will be able to access bigger discounts — up to 50 per cent off, to a maximum of $50 — from small ACT businesses that register with the scheme.

The government has also set aside more money — $2 million compared with $500,000 in the earlier scheme — which can be used at local hospitality, retail, accommodation, personal services, arts and recreation businesses.

The initial ChooseCBR voucher program, which targeted pandemic-affected industries, was scheduled to run for two weeks before Christmas.

However, it failed to attract enough consumers or businesses, and ultimately dispensed less than two-thirds of its budget.

The scheme targets retail stores, restaurants, gyms, massage therapists and similar businesses.(

ABC News: Clarissa Thorpe

)

The latest roll-out of the stimulus spending will remain available to Canberrans until the entire $2 million is spent.

Canberrans will be able to use three vouchers a day — worth $10, $20 and $50 — on as many days as they can.

ACT Business Minister Tara Cheyne defended the initial scheme, saying it was a "really helpful trial" that was used to improve the program.

"Overall, we still got good amounts of participation that gave us that really useful data to see what the spending habits were," she said.

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Ms Cheyne said Canberrans had mostly ignored smaller discounts — $2.50 vouchers were available in the earlier scheme — so the latest scheme provided larger benefits.

"We had a short lead-in time and it was a busy time of the year," she said of the December trial.

"We also got feedback from businesses that they wanted to take [more] time to understand how the scheme worked and how to get the most out of it.

"We've really taken that on-board this time."

Daily vouchers

• $10 off if $20 or more is spent
• $20 off if $40 or more is spent
• $50 off if $100 or more is spent
• Only businesses with an annual turnover of $10 million or less can take part
• Shoppers and businesses must register at choosecbr.act.gov.au

However, the Canberra Liberals said they remained concerned about the scheme's reach and the amount of money spent on administering and marketing it.

Opposition business spokeswoman Leanne Castley said she was pleased the government had made changes, such as increasing the discounts.

But she was wary that most of the money would be spent in central Canberra rather than in outer areas like Tuggeranong and Gungahlin.

"The ChooseCBR trial was a dud, with only 336 businesses signing up yet a staggering $123,000 wasted on admin costs," Ms Castley said.

"Only seven small businesses in Gungahlin signed up for the … trial, which shows how bad it was.

"I called on the minister to go back to the drawing board and am pleased she has overhauled the program because, if it does not help small business, it is a waste of money."

Check-in app use high as other jurisdictions catch up

A version of the Check In CBR app has been made for Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.(

Supplied: ACT Government

)

Meanwhile, a different ACT scheme has fared more successfully since it was introduced last year.

The Check In CBR smartphone app is used to track which people visit venues so they can be contacted if a COVID-19 outbreak happens.

Some states and territories are struggling to encourage people to use similar apps, but use of the ACT app has been consistently high — and growing — since it became mandatory in early March for businesses in confined spaces.

ACT Health's chief information officer, Peter O'Halloran, said the high adoption rate was not only about good design but a positive community attitude.

"It's a great example of how Canberrans are really cooperating to try to fight COVID-19," he said.

The ACT has not yet experienced an outbreak of the respiratory disease in the community, so the tracking technology has only been tested in simulations.

Mr O'Halloran said contact tracers would be able to get in touch with potentially infected people within 30 minutes of a positive COVID-19 test.

"It's been designed so that we can jump on it fast and deal with it before it gets out of control in the community," he said.

"It really is a great success story about how well we do technology in Canberra."

Mr O'Halloran said an ACT Health team developed the app over four weeks last year, and the ACT government was now supporting versions of its app on behalf of the Queensland, Tasmanian and Northern Territory governments.

Progress with similar apps has been slower in the biggest states, New South Wales and Victoria, which have decided only recently to make the technology compulsory for businesses.

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ACT government offers bigger discounts for local shoppers under expanded ChooseCBR voucher scheme - ABC News
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