NSW restaurant voucher scheme to kick off in February, with Sydney’s Northern Beaches added to trial phase

The New South Wales government’s hospitality voucher scheme will kick off next month, and venues located in Sydney’s Northern Beaches will be included in the program’s trial phase. 

The ‘Dine and Discover’ program was announced in late-2020, and a trial involving 500 people was initially scheduled to begin in The Rocks in Sydney this month. 

The program offers four $25 vouchers to NSW residents aged over 18. Two of the vouchers can be spent at restaurants and two can be spent on entertainment or cultural activities. 

On Wednesday, the state government said the trial will now be extended to include venues from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, as well as locations in the Sydney CBD, The Rocks and Broken Hill. 

According to The Guardian, Service NSW has said the Northern Beaches will be included in the second phase of the trial. 

It comes as small businesses and local councillors in the Northern Beaches area call for greater support from the federal government, following new restrictions imposed on the area in response to a COVID-19 outbreak at Christmas. 

Restaurant and Catering Association chief executive Wes Lambert previously told SmartCompany the NSW voucher program is expected to bring the state’s hospitality and entertainment industries a combined value of between $1–1.5 billion. 

“It will drive demand and consumer spending in autumn and early winter, a period in NSW when consumer demand typically goes down,” he said. 

To participate in the program, businesses must be registered as COVID-19 safe and express their interest via the NSW government website.

Residents will be able to access the vouchers by registering a MyServiceNSW account via the Service NSW app.

The NSW voucher scheme is one of a number of hospitality and tourism focussed programs on offer across the country, with Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory also offering residents vouchers to spend at local businesses.