Dine and Discover vouchers inject over $2M into local economy

According to a press release from the NSW Government, Central Coast businesses have received an extra $2M boost from the Dine & Discover NSW Initiative, which began at the start of March.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast and Member for Terrigal, Adam Crouch, said a total of 84,683 vouchers, each worth $25, have already been redeemed in local businesses.

“Dine & Discover NSW vouchers have been live on the Central Coast for just five weeks, and in this short space of time, we’ve seen $2,117,075 spent at local businesses,” Crouch said.

“A total of 147,480 local residents have registered for the Dine & Discover NSW initiative, while 422 local businesses are currently signed up to accept the $25 vouchers as an alternative form of payment.”

Owner of The Lucky Bee in Hardy’s Bay, Rupert Noffs, said the Dine & Discover program had brought new guests to their restaurant.

“We have had people who wouldn’t normally visit have come to our café for a Bánh Mì and coffee, or a curry and cocktail for dinner,” Noffs said.

“The government has very kindly paid for our guest’s cocktails, and I think that’s definitely needed after the year we’ve all had.

“There’s been no issues at all because our point-of-sale system and gift vouchers are already app-based, so the Dine & Discover is user friendly.

“We’ve had many messages asking if we accept the vouchers, so it’s obviously been an extremely successful government incentive to get people spending.”

The two $25 dine vouchers and two $25 discover vouchers will be valid until June 30.

NSW residents can apply online to receive their vouchers through the latest version of the Service NSW app and website.

A non-digital solution is now available at Service NSW Centres for customers who don’t have a smartphone.

Jacinta Counihan