You’ve probably heard a lot of information flying around the past couple of months about the NSW government’s Dine & Discover voucher program. If you have, you’d know that to provide support to our state’s businesses, the government is handing out $100 to each NSW resident over the age of 18 to be used in hospitality venues and on entertainment and recreation activities.
That all sounds pretty great—a bit of spending money for us to go out and use, profit for our favourite businesses, and a stimulant for our economy after a financially tricky 12 months. That said, until now, the information on how to go about using Dine & Discover has been pretty vague.
To help clear it up, we’re providing you with a "how-to" guide on using the vouchers, the kind of places you can enjoy them, and which legendary hospitality companies around Sydney are doubling the incentive if you head into one of their venues.
When Can You Use Your Dine & Discover Vouchers?
Firstly, when can you get out and use this free money? While the NSW Government has been trialling the idea out in certain areas like The Rocks and parts of the Northern Beaches last month, the rest of NSW is told to expect a state-wide rollout in March.
How Do You Score The Vouchers?
While we wait for the vouchers to become available, you can get ready by ensuring you have the Service NSW App downloaded on your phone and ready to go. Once the $100 does become available, you’ll need to register on the Service NSW website, and 4 x $25 vouchers will appear in your app, ready to benefit all your favourite businesses which are registered to accept them.
Two vouchers can be used for hospitality venues like restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes and clubs, but only on food. The other two can be used for entertainment and recreation, which spans a vast range of businesses from cultural institutions, live music, arts, zoos, botanic gardens, amusement parks, cinemas, museums, and so many more.
How Do The Vouchers Work?
A QR code will appear with each $25 voucher (lucky we’re all well-versed in QR codes nowadays), present it to the staff at your chosen businesses, who will scan it and later be reimbursed by the government. If you spend more than $25 in the transaction, you’ll need to pay whatever you excess, and if you spend less, that money will become forfeit. You can only redeem one voucher at that particular business per day.
If you don’t have a phone, don’t panic because you can still apply on the website for printable vouchers. And if you know someone who doesn’t have access to a mobile phone or a computer, they can call the Service NSW contact centre on 13 77 88 or visit a service centre to receive their vouchers.
Where Can I Use Dine & Discover? And Which Venues Are Doubling The Offer?
Now, to the exciting part: which hospo venues around Sydney are offering an extra incentive by doubling the $25 vouchers? Head into any Calligeros Hotel Group venue, including the Rag and Famish, Tilly May’s, The Trinity, or The Terrace for an extra bit of cash which you can also spend on drinks. “We have a great base of locals at our venues who have really backed us throughout these hard times, and we wanted a way to encourage them to keep dining in our venues,” says Calligeros group manager, Seonaid Arthur.
Australian Venue Co. is doing the same at all 11 of its Sydney venues, includes Beer Deluxe, The Loft, Bungalow 8, Manly Wine, The Rook, and The Winery. “We want to bring people back to work and offer more shifts for our team members, and initiatives like this go a long way towards helping businesses recover,” says Australian Venue Co. New South Wales manager, Jeremy Ferguson.
Finally, The Sydney Collective has also joined the party by doubling the vouchers. You can take them into venues like The Imperial Erskineville, Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, Daniel San, Republic Hotel & Taylor’s Rooftop, or Balcony Bar & Oyster Co.
If you somehow find out your local pub isn’t yet registered to accept the vouchers, make sure you encourage them to jump online here and do so before the scheme finishes. It’s also important to note that the vouchers will expire on 30 June 2021—so don’t dawdle and risk missing out once they become available.
Head to the Service NSW website for more information on Dine & Discover.
Need some inspo? Here are three epic new restaurant openings to try this month.
Image credit: Aus Venue Co.