From Cooktown in Far North Queensland to Richmond in Tasmania, from Karratha to Byron Bay, more than 1500 Aussie venues have now signed up to the Bundaberg Rum Raising the Bar initiative.

The $11.5 million program provides support to recover from the impact of COVID-19 shutdowns. It supplies venues with ‘Bear Cares’ packages that include hand sanitiser and dispenser stations, masks, gloves, floor demarcations (stickers) and digital thermometers. It is also supplying outdoor furniture to help venues create ‘Bear Gardens’ for safer open air socialising. 

Hotel Mackay Venue Manager Dean Fuber said: “We haven’t had to buy hand sanitiser since we received the support from Bundaberg Rum, saving us hundreds of dollars.” 

The owner of the Richmond Arms in Tasmania, Tom Darke, said: “We’re very COVID-safe, we have all the right measures in place and we take good hygiene practices very seriously. 

“The Raising the Bar items support our business as we go through a lot of sanitiser obviously and a lot of staff still use gloves to clean tables.” 

A recent independent survey measuring how confident Australians feel about returning to their local revealed a huge 41% increase in patron confidence, up from 58% in August 2020 to 82% in January. 

The survey also showed that two thirds of people (67%) now feel more confident visiting their local thanks to COVID-safe measures. 

Angus McPherson (above), Managing Director at Bundaberg Rum’s parent company Diageo Australia said: “We all know Australians want to make the most of the great weather and catch up with their mates at the local pub, bar or club. The Raising the Bar initiative is our way of making socialising this summer as safe as possible.” 

Since the campaign kicked off last September, Raising the Bar has delivered 68,000 litres of hand sanitiser, 1.5 million items of PPE including gloves and face masks, 3000 digital thermometers and tens of thousands of floor demarcations. 

“Any licence venue can apply for this support and we really encourage all hospitality to get involved because we want to help venues across the country emerge stronger out of this pandemic, ” McPherson said. 

Applications remain open for venues. To apply for the Raising the Bar support package click here.

Patron confidence in pubs, clubs & bars returns

Pictured main: The North Queensland Cowboys socialising Raising the Bar style.