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  • Majority support for domestic travel passports

    Author: AAP

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says giving people more technology to prove vaccination status will boost overseas travel requirements when borders reopen.

Vaccinated Australians have been armed with more technology to prove their status as a new poll reveals majority support for domestic travel passports.

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People immunised against coronavirus can now add a digital vaccination certificate to their Apple Wallet or Google Pay on smartphones.

An Essential poll of almost 1110 Australians found a majority would be comfortable with vaccination passports for domestic travel.

About 72 per cent of respondents support rules requiring people to prove they are immunised before travelling interstate.

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Some 63 per cent are in favour of requiring people to prove they are fully vaccinated before entering public venues including restaurants.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the government wanted to make sure technology was in place for people to easily demonstrate their status.

"It's very important people have that ability," he told ABC radio.

"Particularly potentially when it comes to overseas travel in the future, not just in terms of what rules Australia might put in place, but the rules other countries might put in place as well."

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said getting vaccination rates up should be the priority before debating the merits of passport-like measures.

"Inevitably, what you'll have is restrictions on people entering into mass areas because other people who are in there who are vaccinated will want to feel that they're safe," he told 3AW radio.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to release Doherty Institute modelling that guided vaccination coverage targets agreed in-principle last week.

Federal and state governments backed a 70 per cent target for lockdowns to be less likely and an 80 per cent threshold for city-wide closures to all but end.

At the higher mark, vaccinated Australians will be allowed to freely travel overseas and international arrival caps will be scrapped.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will also introduce to federal parliament a draft law to make worker and business support tax-free.

Incentives have been thrust into national political debate after Labor called for one-off $300 cash payments for all people vaccinated by December 1.

The Morrison government has rejected the plan, arguing it is not evidence-based.

Australia remains behind the developed world in its vaccination rates with 19.2 per cent of people over 16 having so far received both doses.

Sydney's coronavirus crisis continues with another 199 cases of local transmission detected on Tuesday.

Queensland recorded 16 new local cases taking its cluster to 47.

In Victoria there was four new local infections all of which were in isolation.

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