PM recommends avoiding mass gatherings, but not until Monday

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has advised Australians to take precautionary measures by advising against attending mass gatherings from Monday.

The PM says the Government advises against organised, non-essential gatherings of 500 people or greater.

By non-essential gatherings the PM is not referring to places like university, school or airports.

Ultimately, the advice is just a recommendation, which Morrison describes as a "scalable response".

"These are things that will be scaled up in the weeks ahead," says Morrison.

"Parliament is essential, school is essential, going to work is essential."

The PM has also urged Australians to reconsider the need to travel overseas at this time, irrespective of location.

"Only essential travel should be considered if you're going overseas from this point forward," says Morrison.

Fox Sports reports NRL clubs are due to hold a call at 4pm AEDT to prepare for a potential shutdown.

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg has confirmed the Brisbane Broncos vs North Queensland Cowboys will still go ahead tonight, and the Canberra Raiders vs Gold Coast Titans will also proceed as planned.

The AFL is also due to start next weekend, but the league now says "there's a lot up in the air".

"A decision on whether games will be played in front of no fans or whether the season will be postponed has not been made yet," the AFL said in its latest update.

Despite a broad share market fall this morning, the All Ordinaries rebounded after the Prime Minister's press conference and is now up 4 per cent.

Updated 3.30pm AEDT on 13 March 2020.