Official government COVID vaccination certificate now on Android

Vaccination certificate

A COVID vaccination certificate will soon become a way of life – no-jab, no-job, or worse, no entrance to the footy. Employers are increasingly mandating (as is their right) that all staff must be vaccinated or no-job. Qantas is saying no vaccination means no-fly. Vulnerable places like aged care are starting to insist on COVID vaccination certificates for both residents and visitors.

From today, Australians can save the official Australian Government Covid Vaccination certificate on their Android phones. To access your vaccination certificate, simply login to the Express Plus Medicare app or via the Medicare portal of the MyGov website and select the options to ‘View your COVID-19 digital certificate’ and ‘Save to Phone.’  It is only on your phone – Google cannot access it.

You can access your vaccine information online or offline via the password, pin, or biometric (fingerprint or face ID) method you set up for your phone. If you have the Google Pay app, you can also store the COVID vaccination certificate with your other cards and passes.

Google has been working with the Australian Government on secure storage of a COVID Vaccination certifiate in Android. This includes Services Australia as an official certificate storage method. Google also has been working to help authorities, businesses, and Australians stay safe and informed during the pandemic.

This includes surfacing the latest updates, health and travel advice from authorities, and giving almost A$5M in ad grants to the Federal Government to support these public health initiatives. We’ve provided regular updates on Search trends and launched COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports to offer local insights on the impact of social distancing.

And to help meet the cost of the virus, Google has contributed $20M in ad credits to businesses to support their pivot to online trading during these challenging times. To keep across the latest news, check out our local COVID microsite featuring the latest updates and health resources: google.com.au/covid19.

GadgetGuy’s take

The Federal Government cannot legislate to make the jab mandatory. But it has no control over employers – small business, enterprise, statutory authorities and government departments at local, state or federal level that are 100% within their legal rights to insist on a no-jab, no ‘whatever’ policy.

For the most part, that is because those employers are legally required to provide a safe place of employment. That means no exposure to potentially COVID infected staff, suppliers and the public. And it is a movement rapidly growing all over the world. We are yet to see how those without smartphones – the new digital divide – will be able to securely access a COVID vaccination certificate.

You read other GadgetGuy COVID-related news here.