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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

There seems little reason to be optimistic about the year ahead but we can be hopeful we are through the worst of the pandemic.

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.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said it was likely the case numbers in the state were well above the reported figure.

We know 2022 will be better because, in most ways, it already is. But the uncertainty of the past two years is hard to shake.

CBH Group have hit a record-breaking 20 million tonnes for this year’s harvest across WA.

Queensland will end the year with 11,697 active COVID-19 cases, after a record 3118 new cases were reported on Friday.

The Logie winner was a Bandstand regular and also host of TV’s Surf Sound.

Neane Carter was concerned about working in a system she felt had created immense harm for her people. But a Victorian Bar program for Indigenous law students has encouraged her to become a voice for her communities.

The 43-year-old woman, from Officer in Melbourne’s south-east, was fishing with her family at San Remo on Thursday when she fell into the water. 

The two-year-old girl was pulled unresponsive from the pond at Footscray Park on Monday evening. She died in hospital on Thursday afternoon.

Twin cabernet tastings in the heart of Margaret River wine country have shown why some of the best quality and value cabernet is found along this 110 kilometre stretch of winding road in the South West.

Changes to how authorities manage the pandemic mean tens of thousands of contacts will not be required to isolate and get tested if they are exposed to the virus.

The government program bears a striking resemblance to the European practice of using trinkets when they colonised Asia and Africa.

At least 10 women who attended one of Melbourne’s most prestigious Jewish schools have accused a former senior teacher of misconduct towards them when they were students.

Omicron is putting the health system is under pressure.

I have seen every single sunrise this year - and I’m all the better for it.

School holidays should be extended by a week allowing more children aged five to 11 to be vaccinated before classes resume at the end of next month.

Police have reported a rise in “serious incidents” in Airbnbs before New Year’s Eve, including bloodied walls, a stabbing and brawls.

The coronavirus, especially infection rates, restrictions and economic disruptions, shaped what Australians most worried about.

Dominic Perrottet’s COVID “change in approach” will be sceptically received, and many will see this contradiction of earlier advice as a belated attempt to manage a situation that looks out of control.

Seeing in the new year, victim chases thief, and Kurrewa line honours.

Thirty years ago, the Herald detailed the intensive preparations ahead of the Australian visit by US President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today’s interactive superquiz and target.

Some of our best photos of the year and top stories by The Age photographers 2021, the year in pictures.

Looking back on 2021: a year of continuing COVID-19, Capitol riots, political car crashes - and Cleo Smith.

Daniel Gschwind, the face of Queensland’s tourism industry and the chief executive of the tourism council, takes a look back at 2021. 

Authorities remain on high alert for potential superspreader events, warning revellers to wear a mask if possible and socially distance.

Amid a shortage of COVID-19 home test kits, Queensland is relying on imports because the only local manufacturer found an overseas market first.

Victorians will no longer be required to get a test if they are exposed to COVID-19 at places such as cafes, schools, and supermarkets.

Babylonian promises for the new year.

If you need prawns for the New Year’s Eve barbeque or are just looking for a bargain, fear not, here’s a guide to what’s open over the new year period.

Federal politicians have criticised protesters after a fire damaged the 100-year-old front doors of Old Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday.

The rules kept changing, and festival-goers - including one with COVID-19 - claim safety breaches and a communication breakdown put the community at risk.

If – like about 50,000 people in NSW since Christmas – you test positive to COVID-19, this is what the experts say you should do next.

The NSW president of the Australian Medical Association says hospitalisation and ICU figures do not show the full impact of the virus on our health system.

Some Sydneysiders needing to take a test have been relying on social media to find locations that are not overwhelmed and shops with rapid antigen tests in stock.