Once the state begins to unlock next month, unvaccinated people who attempt to enter a business such as a pub, restaurant, bar, gym or shop will be slapped with a “substantial fine”, NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has confirmed, although he did not cite specifically how big this fine would be. Currently, people breaching lockdown rules can be issued an on-the-spot fine ranging from $1000-$5000 depending on the severity of the infringement.
While it has previously been announced that only fully vaccinated people will be able to enjoy the post-lockdown freedoms to be introduced once 70 per cent of eligible adults in the state have been double-jabbed, this is the first time a financial penalty has been specified.
Hazzard declined to say whether business owners would also be penalised for serving unvaccinated people, saying that it was a “more difficult question” and that those details were being developed as part of the ‘roadmap to freedom’. The health minister also dodged a question about whether staff that refuse to be vaccinated could be penalised.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has already said that vaccine passports will be legally mandatory once the state begins unlocking. This digital document will share a person’s vaccination status or if they have been granted a medical exemption when they check in at a venue. As of September 16, 80.1 per cent of eligible adults (8,397,217 doses in arms) has received at least one jab of a vaccine, and 48.5 per cent of eligible adults have been fully vaccinated.