Not far from the revellers who gathered on the Kangaroo Point cliffs to ring in the new year, workers were preparing to bring a grand old residence back to life.

Sydney is preparing for its annual fireworks display, Melburnians are being told to avoid the CBD unless they have NYE tickets or a restaurant booking, and the country’s east coast has recorded more than 30,000 coronavirus cases.

Australian batter Travis Head has been ruled out of the Sydney Test after testing positive to COVID-19. But there are no plans to put the Ashes combatants into a bubble.

The week in photos from the award-winning Sydney Morning Herald and Financial review photographers.

It is believed former Canterbury grand final player Frank Pritchard has a collapsed lung and other major health issues as a result of the virus.

The Australian star will face two top-seven talents in the next week as he leads Australia’s charge in the group Lleyton Hewitt believes is the toughest in the tournament.

Omicron has thrown the country into a seemingly contradictory position: leaders seeking to open up must suddenly consider how to limit its transmission, if at all.

Some rose to great heights and carried us with them while others dug themselves ever deeper into holes.

Staff would be returned to work before completing their seven days of isolation if they are deemed essential to service delivery and it is approved by a senior manager.

The traditional New Year’s Eve BBL match at Adelaide Oval has been given go ahead by the South Australian government after four Sydney Thunder players tested positive to COVID-19.

Victoria Police say the cliff face gave way about 2.15pm, dropping debris on top of six people sitting underneath.

Meteorologist says it is difficult to predict where Cyclone Seth is heading but it has already been upgraded to category 2.

The overall handicap honours were stripped from Celestial after she was uncontactable via radio and needed a rival boat to send emergency flares to ensure crew members were safe.

Everything you need to know to start the new year off with a win.

It took James Duckworth 11 years to crack the world top 50. But two senior Tennis Australia figures believe the best is yet to come for the Sydney product.

Organisers called off the performance part way through the second act, telling the audience the show would not proceed and Ticketmaster would contact them shortly. 

The Sydney and Melbourne CBDs may be quieter for longer as large employers revise their return to work plans.

After almost two years of postponed tours and audience-free online gigs, live comedy returns in 2022.

Several blazes started around Denver on Thursday, at least some sparked by downed power lines.

Few, if any horses, have gone so far so fast as Incentivise who went from a Sunshine Coast maiden to Melbourne spring prominence and over $5.7 million in  prizemoney, yet whispers abound regarding dissention in the camp.

Photos of the year by The Sydney Morning Herald photographers

The city’s harbourside parks were empty of the usual crowds hours before midnight, as COVID-19 cases skyrocketed and many people scaled back plans.

The new Star Wars series lives up to the promise of “long, long ago”. All the way back to 1977, in fact.

The new season of the celebrity-packed reality show swaps the jungle for the outback, but the camping trip from hell promises to deliver the same disgusting food trials and humiliations.

Health authorities said the new case was linked to a recent case and is in hotel quarantine.

Scott Boland’s road to Ashes glory at the MCG began at a tranquil waterhole in western Victoria where emu and kangaroo still venture for refreshment.

The front entrance of Old Parliament House was seriously damaged and the chambers and King’s Hall covered in soot from Thursday’s fire, as protesters continued their action.

The first local drama from streaming platform Binge is an uplifting look at exploring love at three different ages.

Blockbusters and arthouse offerings are set to crowd our screens in 2022.

Billie Eilish, The Kid LAROI and Midnight Oil are among the artists filling our post-lockdown dance card.

Jonas Kaufmann performs in what is arguably his greatest role in Melbourne in May.

The singer’s identity surged to the surface of their multi-award-winning album Native Tongue.

Alison MacLeod’s novel delves into the writing of Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the drama of its trial for obscenity.

Two stylish crime writers introduce new protagonists in their latest books.

Michael McGirr’s book tests western philosophy’s central ideas in a way that gets you chuckling and your grey matter working.

Landscape, liberation and sexuality are reframed by artists at either end of the career spectrum.

In Berndt Sellheim’s novel, a young man seeks a cure for his mother’s fatal condition.

Dance steps out of the doldrums as old favourites are reinvigorated and boundaries crossed.

The nation’s Pharmacy Guild proposed a “hybrid” model to the government, warning a free-for-all on tests would leave the system swamped by healthy people wanting to stock up.

At rest, the human body produces about 100 watts of energy. Strenuous dancing can multiply that five or six times, making dance floors great at creating heat.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

As Dominic Perrottet seeks to reassure the public, the ambulance service is facing its busiest day on record due largely to COVID-19 cases calling with concerns.

The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.

Despite the strain, Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said he expected the pressure on the health system to ease soon, due to changes made to the close contact rules.

There is not much point sacking Joe Root. The clean broom for English cricket must start at the very highest levels - those are the decks that need to be cleared immediately.

For some who flocked to St Kilda beach on New Year’s Eve, this year’s celebrations will be as close to normal as possible. For others, they will be a little more low key.

Social scientists one day will tell us why sports people generally were on their best behaviour in another trying year for everyone.

Who knew we were so worried about whether Elizabeth Olsen is related to the Olsen twins?

Single-use plastic bowls, cups, plates, cutlery, stirrers, straws, expanded polystyrene food containers, thick plastic bags and helium balloon releases will all be phased out as of Saturday. 

An interactive map shows COVID-19 case numbers in your postcode, while an analysis of data points to high infections in Melbourne’s most exclusive suburbs.