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The AFL will outsource an investigation into harrowing Hawthorn racism claims which casts doubt on the tenures of two senior coaches.

Freshly appointed North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson will delay starting work at his new club while Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has taken leave.

The futures of both coaches hinge on the findings of an independent investigation into racism claims described as "sickening" by the federal government.

Clarkson and Fagan have both promised to cooperate with an independent probe after being named in reports detailing racism at Hawthorn.

Clarkson was due to begin at North on November 1 but "will delay the start of his tenure to allow time to fully participate" in the investigation, the Kangaroos said in a statement.

Brisbane and Fagan "mutually agreed" for the coach to take a leave of absence during the investigation, a Lions statement said.

The AFL said both coaches would be afforded "natural justice" by an independent panel to be created within 24 hours to examine the explosive racism claims.

One former Hawthorn player alleged he was told by Clarkson to terminate his partner's pregnancy, the ABC reported.

The player said a group of coaches including Clarkson and Fagan also urged him to break up with his partner, the ABC said.

Four-time premiership coach Clarkson was at Hawthorn between 2005 and 2021.

Fagan was a senior assistant coach to Clarkson and general manager of football at the Hawks from 2008 to 2016 before being appointed Brisbane coach in 2017.

Hawthorn earlier this year commissioned an external review into claims of racism, which was delivered to the AFL a fortnight ago.

Clarkson and Fagan were not interviewed but Hawthorn's chief executive Justin Reeves said the club must face its past.

"It's heartbreaking, these allegations are extremely disturbing," Reeves told reporters.

"Australia has a culture problem historically ... like so many institutions we have to face our history and our past."

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said an independent four-person panel headed by a King's Counsel would investigate.

"These are serious allegations," McLachlan told reporters.

"We need to run a proper investigation to get to the bottom of it ... out of respect to those making the allegations and out of respect to those being accused."

AFL Players' Association chief executive Paul Marsh said he was "extremely concerned" by the ABC report, published on Wednesday.

One couple was pressured to terminate a pregnancy for the sake of his football career, the ABC reported.

"Clarkson just leaned over me and demanded that I needed to get rid of my unborn child and my partner," the unnamed player told the ABC.

"I was then manipulated and convinced to remove my SIM card from my phone so there was no further contact between my family and me."

The player's partner did not go through with a termination and told the ABC only at the five-month mark of the pregnancy was the player allowed by the club to return to his family.

Former Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge, who played at the club from 2002-17, said the claims were "shocking, terrible".

And federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said "the report was nothing short of sickening, quite frankly".

"It is inconceivable in this day and age, the sort of treatment and the allegations that have been made by the players involved," she told the ABC.

"The allegations that have been made against Hawthorn are just horrendous."

© AAP 2022

A referendum on Australia becoming a republic would not pass if a vote were held today.

That's according to a Resolve poll, which found only 46 per cent of Australians answered "yes" when asked if they would support the nation amending the constitution and ditching its links to the monarchy.

The poll comes ahead of a national public holiday to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, with political and community leaders coming together for a memorial service in Canberra.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly said it was not the right time to discuss a republic push.

The Resolve poll - published in Nine newspapers - found Victoria was the only state in which the majority of respondents would back a republic.

A referendum would also barely pass among younger Australians, with 54 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 in support of breaking ties with the British monarchy.

Some 75 per cent of respondents said the Queen had done a good job during her reign, while 45 per cent said King Charles III would do well as Australia's head of state.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the poll should be seen in the context of the support for Queen Elizabeth and her family following the monarch's death.

"I don't think we should read too much into polls about the republic in the immediate aftermath of such a historic moment as the death of Queen Elizabeth II," he told ABC Radio.

"I really feel that all that's taken place in the last couple of weeks since the Queen's passing is about acknowledging an incredible human being."

The remembrance service on Thursday is expected to be attended by a number of former prime ministers and governors-general, as well as High Court judges and diplomats.

It won't be open to the public, although Finance Minister Katy Gallagher noted there had been a number of commemorative events in the nation's capital to date.

"Those (security) challenges have just had to be weighed up by the people who are organising it," she told the ABC.

"But I certainly feel, as a Canberran, there have been a number of opportunities for the general public to come forward and share in this very historic occasion."

There will be a number of Australian touches at the service, including a 1954 painting of the Queen by eight-time Archibald Prize winner Sir William Dargie.

The painting will be surrounded by Australia's floral emblem, the golden wattle, and some of her favourite flowers, sweet peas and dahlias.

Thursday's service will be broadcast live across the nation from 11am (AEST) and begin with a minute's silence.

Aussie star Anthony Callea and the Australian Girls Choir - who sang for the Queen during her 2011 trip to Australia - will perform for the service.

Mr Albanese said the service would allow the nation to reflect on the late Queen's life of dedication and service.

"Her Majesty had a deep affection with Australia and Australians have remembered her fondly since her passing," he said.

"The Queen lived her life with an air of dignity and grace that will be remembered for centuries to come."

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss said the Queen's death was a period of great grief and sadness.

© AAP 2022

Businesses have largely missed out on fuel price relief from the halved fuel excise tax, with households benefiting more from the temporary cost-of-living measure.

This is a product of fuel tax design, according to a Parliamentary Budget Office explainer.

The Morrison government halved the fuel excise from March for six months in a bid to reduce pressure on the cost of living, but the excise will come back on next week.

While the temporary tax relief mainly flowed through to individual motorists, most businesses already pay less tax on petrol thanks to a fuel tax credit system that gives eligible businesses refunds.

Australia is also among the lowest petrol taxing nations in the OECD, the report says.

It comes in 12th lowest for fuel tax related to roads and ninth lowest for taxes on other fuel uses.

The nation's low tax environment can be partly explained by the lack of an explicit carbon tax component, the report says, which some other countries have.

The halved fuel excise tax is due to be reinstated in a little over a week, but prices are not expected to jump up straight away.

Regional areas could continue to benefit from lower-taxed fuel for several weeks, with city-based petrol stations likely to have to buy fuel at the higher price sooner than regional stations because of higher turnover.

The NRMA's Peter Khoury said motorists should not see an immediate increase, and his motoring organisation as well as the consumer watchdog would be keeping a close eye on the matter.

"It will take several days in the capital cities and possibly even longer - up to two weeks - in regional areas," he said.

"That is because service stations will already have existing stock before they go and restock fuel at the increased rates."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said there would be more than 700 million litres of lower-excise fuel in the system when the excise is reintroduced, so the price should not shoot up immediately.

On Monday, the Australian Institute of Petroleum reported the national average unleaded petrol price fell by 0.9 cent a litre last week to a nine-month low of 163.5 cents a litre.

CommSec estimates it is costing the average family $228.90 a month to fill up the car, well below the record high of $297.50 a month in March.

Experts admit the key driver of bowser prices is the global oil price, which has been under pressure due to Russia's war in Ukraine.

Bowser prices are only likely to drop when the global price starts to stabilise.

Australia is supporting a price cap on Russian oil exports, which Dr Chalmers said would help address the problem.

© AAP 2022