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The promise of financial assistance for interstate fans is unlikely to quell backlash to the A-Leagues' announcement that the men's and women's grand finals will move to Sydney until at least 2025.

The A-Leagues announced their three-year deal with the NSW Government on Monday, bringing an end to 17 years of tradition that permitted the highest-ranked team to host the decider.

The deal was approved by the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) board but faced instant criticism from fans and industry figures alike - including that supporters would pay more to travel to Sydney for a lesser grand final experience.

The nomadic grand final distinguishes the A-Leagues from rival Australian codes and has helped home fans reap the rewards of their teams' successes.

The A-Leagues have celebrated large crowds under that model. Of the five most attended games in ALM history, four were grand finals.

Melbourne Victory forward Maja Markovski called the change a "Big L (loss)", while Socceroo Craig Goodwin, who appeared in a video promoting it, said fans were worse off.

"They are the ones that create the atmosphere and culture and what makes the game great," he wrote on Instagram.

"Like many fans around the country ... I too am disappointed in this decision."

But APL CEO Danny Townsend stood his ground on Monday.

"You don't make bold decisions as the CEO of a league without expecting backlash," he told a press conference.

"(But) you've got to have the conviction."

Townsend sold the idea as the Australian fan's chance to embark on a sporting pilgrimage, like that which English supporters take to Wembley for the FA Cup Final.

In reality, the distances covered are significantly larger and the financial costs much more taxing. The furthest team from Wembley in this year's FA Cup competition, Carlisle United, is based 500km from the London ground, compared to the almost 4,000km that separates Perth and Sydney.

"The fans of Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Wellington are obviously the worst hit," Perth Glory chair Tony Sage told AAP.

"It's going to cost someone from Perth $3,000 with accommodation and airfares to get to a grand final and that's the minimum cost.

"If a family of four want to go, that's $12,000 or $13,000."

Townsend acknowledged the financial burdens imposed by the decision had influenced fan reaction but said the A-Leagues were already looking at ways to make the fixture affordable.

The A-Leagues will introduce a two-week break between the semis and grand final to allow fans to plan a trip to Sydney.

"We want to make sure that every football fan in the country has the opportunity to get to Sydney to celebrate football," Townsend said.

"We've got partners, airlines and hotels, that we'll be working with and stakeholders that will allow us to put our best foot forward."

AAP understands any such assistance would be a first of its kind and that in previous seasons, away fans have not had access to cut-price fares or deals that would make travelling for a grand final more accessible.

The A-Leagues will reportedly bank an eight-figure payday from the agreement but state Minister for Sport Alister Henskens declined to disclose the fee paid when pressed, claiming that doing so would jeopardise the NSW Government's negotiating powers.

In 2008, Central Coast and Newcastle contested the only ALM grand final played at a venue outside either club's home city, with the Mariners' home ground deemed too small. The match drew the lowest crowd of the competition's first nine grand finals, at 36,354.

But Mr Henskens does not believe crowd figures would be an issue for future grand finals, even if no Sydney teams qualified.

"I have no doubt with the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of registered football players in NSW, with the great fanbase and the fact that Sydney is an incredible place to travel to, that we will have a successful event here in Sydney," he said.

© AAP 2022

Patients will need a referral in order to get a free COVID PCR test from next year, under sweeping changes to how the country manages the virus.

Under a new national management plan for 2023, the government is set to move away from "COVID exceptionalism".

"Over 2023, Australia will transition to managing COVID-19 in a similar way to other respiratory viruses," the plan said.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the threat of COVID was likely to be part of life for some time to come.

"The likely emergence of new variants, including those able to partially evade immune responses, mean the Australian community can expect to experience new waves on a regular basis for at last the next two years," Prof Kelly said.

The government will spend $2.8 million on the national plan for 2023.

Under the changes put forward by the plan, a referral from a medical or nurse practitioner will be needed in order for patients to receive a free PCR test at locations that aren't run by a state or territory government.

State or territory-operated PCR clinics will be able to accept patients without referrals, with the government extending 50-50 funding arrangements for jurisdictions who choose to keep the clinics running.

The plan said testing won't be used as a surveillance tool like it was during previous lockdowns, but will instead be targeted in order for eligible patients to get faster access to antiviral treatments.

Access to antivirals will be provided following a positive PCR or rapid antigen test.

"There will be an ongoing need to evaluate and optimise how we test, who we test and when we test people for COVID-19 over the course of 2023," the plan said.

"Over the next 12 months, COVID-19 testing requirements will be aligned with testing arrangements associated with other respiratory illnesses."

People in high-risk populations, such as older Australians, Indigenous people as well as those with a disability will be prioritised for PCR testing.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the government's priority was to minimise the incidence of death and severe illness, particularly focusing on those most at risk.

"The national plan provides clear guidance to the community and healthcare providers on how the Australian government will play its part in managing COVID-19 into the future," Mr Butler said.

"We will continue to protect those most at risk, while ensuring we have the capacity to respond to future waves and variants."

The national plan recognises that COVID-19 continues to disproportionately affect some Australians and outlines a suite of measures including additional help for those in aged care, Indigenous Australians, the disabled and multicultural communities;

It will ensure that those most at risk of severe disease have fast access to care and treatments and will strengthen the National Medical Stockpile safety net and pandemic preparedness capability.

Mr Butler has come under fire following a decision to halve the number of subsidised psychology appointments available to people from next year.

People were able to access an additional 10 appointments following the initial lockdowns in 2020, on top of the 10 already available under the government scheme.

However, funding for the extra appointments will run out at the end of the year and will not be renewed.

© AAP 2022

NSW real estate agents will be banned from conducting rental auction "feeding frenzies" that push up the price of rental properties.

Premier Dominic Perrottet says solicited rent bidding - where real estate agents suggest prospective tenants offer a higher price on a rental property to better their chances of securing the lease - will be banned.

"For too long, particularly in a tight market, we've seen these auctions occurring from real estate agents across the state," he told reporters on Monday

"From Saturday that will no longer be the case."

However, the regulations stop short of banning unsolicited offers from tenants - meaning people at inspections can still offer a higher price to secure the lease - so long as the agent does not entice it.

Prospective tenants who are encouraged by real estate agents to up their offers will be able to report agents to the Department of Fair Trading.

Offending agents will be subjected to fines of $5500 for an individual and $11,000 for a corporation.

Fair Trading Minister Victor Dominello said the reform would protect vulnerable renters.

"We appreciate there are vulnerable renters out there that are just doing their best just to get a roof over their head," he said.

"The last thing we want is a feeding frenzy of activity when the market is so hot."

It comes after NSW Labor announced it would seek to legislate an end to rental bidding.

The government said it would not have parliament return to make laws on the issue, preferring to have regulations in effect by the weekend.

The promise ahead of the March election comes amid skyrocketing Sydney rents as well as those in regional areas, with NSW's median rent increasing from $386 to $420 a week between 2016 and 2021.

With one in three NSW households now renting, Opposition Leader Chris Minns says Labor has prepared legislation which would ban secret bidding.

Labor is also proposing a portable bond scheme to help relieve some of the cost pressures of moving homes by allowing renters to transfer their bond from one property to another.

Responding to the Perrottet government's plan, Greens MP Jenny Leong welcomed the move but also called for an end to no-grounds evictions as well as a rent freeze.

"The Greens welcome this reform as a good first step but also recognise that a great deal more can and should be done to protect the millions of renters across NSW," Ms Leong said.

Labor says more of the state's residents are becoming lifetime renters and more than a third of existing renters are paying over 30 per cent of their household income towards their weekly rent.

Mr Minns is promising to establish a rental commissioner to be an advocate and voice for tenants, who would work closely with government, consumer affairs and stakeholders.

"We'll install a rental commissioner, whose job will be to hold landlords and agents to a high standard to ensure fairness across the rental market," he said.

© AAP 2022