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James Tedesco will be investigated by the NRL's integrity unit after a woman claimed he made a racial slur against her in Sydney last week.

The NRL formally received a complaint from a woman on Sunday afternoon, after a social media post late last week.

In it, the woman's sister claimed the former Dally M medallist said "Squid Game" at the 20-year-old of Vietnamese descent when he walked past her in Bondi on Thursday.

Tedesco is expected to deny the claims, and has told the Sydney Roosters he was simply talking about Netflix's popular South Korean series when the woman overheard him.

"Last night you felt compelled to say "squid game" at my sister when you walked past her outside of Beach Road in Bondi," Katherine Trinh wrote on Instagram last week, tagging Tedesco in the post.

"This may seem like a joke to you, but these are the micro-aggressions that keep racism alive in Australia.

"My dad used to tell stories of the racism he faced when he first moved here 30 years ago, my sisters and I can all recount racism we suffered throughout school.

"And now one of them can remember when an entitled footy player was racist to her just last night."

Trinh claimed in the post that the NSW State of Origin captain had been called out on the comment when it occurred, to which Tedesco responded "do you know who I am?"

It adds to a long list of matters for the NRL's integrity unit to consider in their off-season.

Canberra winger Jordan Rapana pleaded guilty to low-range drink driving in Queensland from September on Monday, avoiding a conviction but copping a three-month suspension from driving and $500 fine.

Sam Burgess' situation is another matter to be resolved, with the NRL able to ramp up their investigation into claims last year that alleged drug use and domestic violence behaviour had been covered up by South Sydney.

The Rabbitohs strongly denied the claims by Burgess' ex-partner Phoebe, while the NRL can now speak to witnesses after a police investigation into Burgess was last week dropped.

An outcome is expected in the next few weeks on that matter, as well as a possible suspension for Burgess' brother George after he pleaded guilty to a road rage incident.

George's charge came just weeks after joining St George Illawarra.

The NRL's football department reviews are also ongoing this week, with no major alterations expected to on-field rules after two seasons of significant change.

Judiciary and off-field matters will also be considered, with clubs having submitted their ideas to changes to the system.

Again there is unlikely to be a major upheaval, but some clubs have suggested alterations to the loading system which came back to hurt the likes of Latrell Mitchell and Victor Radley in 2021.

The NRL made a point to defend the loading system during the year, pointing out that it follows a similar process to criminal courts.

Next season's draw is set to be released as soon as the end of next week.

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Victoria's reopening could place the health of some vulnerable members of the Indigenous community further at risk, with the race to vaccinate them against COVID-19 becoming more urgent.

The state government is expanding Indigenous vaccination programs in Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria in coming weeks, with pop-up sites and dedicated vans to be set up to boost lagging rates.

Almost 80 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged over 12 in Victoria have had their first jab and 58 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Both of those levels are lagging behind the wider Victorian community, but higher than the national average.

"A bit of fear" continues to surround COVID-19 and vaccines among inner-city Indigenous communities and its origin is evident, according to Victorian Aboriginal Health Service chief executive Michael Graham.

"You've got to look at the history of this country and the amount of viruses that have come into this country ... and the effects that has had on Aboriginal people," he said.

About half of Victoria's Aboriginal population lives in Melbourne and the VAHS van will target the under-40 demographic and bring the vaccine directly to homes, including some elders who are scared to leave.

With the health service's data suggesting Aboriginal Victorians' top two chronic illnesses are respiratory problems, and depression and anxiety, Mr Graham said some community members are faced with a difficult choice as restrictions ease.

"Imagine being locked up in your house for so long, and whether you've got a respiratory problem or you're suffering some mental health issues, you're sort of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'," he said.

"That's why we're racing to get these vaccinations done as quick as possible."

The vaccination drive comes as Victoria recorded 1461 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases and seven deaths on Monday, including a woman in her 20s.

Health Minister Martin Foley said the young woman's death was not caused by her COVID-19 infection.

The seven latest fatalities take the toll from the current outbreak to 230.

COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said two thirds of cases in the past week were unvaccinated, and half a million Victorians over 12 have not yet had a first dose.

"They are the ones who are far more likely to be caught up in our daily case numbers," he said.

Victoria now has 74.4 per cent of its residents aged 16 and over fully vaccinated and is tipped to hit its 80 per cent target sometime next weekend.

Whether it does or not, restrictions will ease further and align across the state from 6pm on Friday.

The long-running ban on travel between Melbourne and regional Victoria will be scrapped, masks will no longer need to be worn outdoors, and entertainment venues, gyms and retail stores can reopen indoors to fully vaccinated patrons.

The Victorian government has also announced almost all coronavirus restrictions will end once 90 per cent of the 12-plus population are fully vaccinated, forecast to occur on or around November 24.

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Petrol prices have struck a record high on average as global oil prices continue to rise, fuelling concerns about both the inflation and interest rate outlook.

The Australian average for unleaded petrol rose 8.8 cents per litre in the past week to a record of 169.5 cents.

They were particularly high along the east coast, topping 170 cents per litre, and were even above 180 cents per litre in Brisbane and Adelaide.

"As a net importer of refined petroleum, the cost of fuel continues to increase for Aussie petroleum retailers," Commonwealth Securities senior economisr Ryan Felsman said.

"In turn, servos are passing on higher costs to consumers at the pump."

Rising fuel price are expected to be a feature of Wednesday's September quarter inflation figures.

Economists' forecasts point to a 0.8 per cent rise in the consumer price index for the September quarter.

While this would see the annual rate ease to 3.1 per cent compared to the coronavirus-related 3.8 per cent spike as of the June quarter, it would still remain at the top end of the RBA's two to three per cent inflation target.

But underlying inflation - which smooths out excessive price swings and is more linked to interest rate decisions made by the RBA - is likely to remain subdued.

Predictions centre on underlying inflation rising 0.5 per cent in the September quarter to 1.9 per cent annually.

However, financial markets see upside risk to these forecasts, particularly in light of New Zealand's inflation result, which saw annual inflation spike to almost five per cent and the highest since 2011.

"We doubt that Australia's CPI print will show anything like the same sort of broad-based strength and, critically, underlying inflation is still expected to be below the bottom edge of the RBA's two to three per cent target band," HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said.

"Although Australia and New Zealand are often grouped together from a global markets perspective, this superficial view can sometimes hide quite stark economic divergences."

Notably, Australian wage growth is running below its pre-pandemic rate at 1.7 per cent, while New Zealand wage growth is running at 2.2 per cent and above pre-COVID levels.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has repeatedly said it will need wage growth of three per cent to lift inflation sustainably within the target band, something it does not expect to occur before 2024.

Even so, markets are pricing in the risk of higher interest rates as early as next year.

An inflation shock would make it even harder for people to enter the housing market if it resulted in higher interest rates.

As it is, Moody's Investors Service believes affordability will continue to deteriorate over the next few months as property prices rise further while lending rates and household incomes stay broadly steady.

"Wage rises on the back of a rebound in economic activity as states relax lockdown curbs could help cushion the impact of price increases," Moody's analyst Pratik Joshi says.

"Conversely, an 'expected inflation' shock could raise mortgage lending rates from current record-low levels, thereby further weakening housing affordability."

Consumer inflation expectations, as measured by the weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan survey, stand at their highest level since 2014.

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