The AFL season was scheduled to start on Thursday night with Brisbane hosting Geelong at the Gabba.
That game, and Gold Coast's scheduled home match against Essendon on Saturday afternoon, will be played later in the season on dates yet determined.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon announced the postponements after an emergency meeting of the code's powerbrokers in Sydney on Tuesday.
"It is a very uncertain situation that is unfolding," Dillon said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with everyone in southeast Queensland and northern NSW that may be impacted.
"Ultimately, we hope this weather event doesn't eventuate but we know everyone needs to prepare accordingly and we don't want our games to be a distraction to those preparations."
Brisbane coach Chris Fagan earlier urged the AFL to make the "logical" decision.
"It's just a game of football. The safety of family and friends and staff and fans is the priority, that is why common sense has to prevail," Fagan told reporters.
"It's a cyclone ... I have seen the carnage they have cause at different periods of Australian history, so I'm not too keen on the idea of things going ahead if it's going to be like that ... it can't, can it?"
Geelong coach Chris Scott had also demanded a decision from the AFL ahead of some Cats players due to fly to Queensland later Tuesday.
"It sort of reminds me of the COVID situation," Scott told reporters.
"It's a bit unpalatable talking about when you prefer to play a game of footy when people are sandbagging their houses."
The NRL is yet to make a decision on its Friday fixture between the Dolphins and South Sydney at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.
But Australian golf officials have cancelled the WPGA Championship on the Gold Coast amid the grim forecasts of Tropical Cyclone Alfred hitting Queensland and northern NSW.
The tournament, a co-sanctioned event with the Ladies European Tour, had been scheduled to start on Thursday at Sanctuary Cove on the northern Gold Coast.
But with Cyclone Alfred forecast to hit land on Friday, the tournament has been called off in a decision golf hierarchy described as "supremely disappointing".
"With the predicted high rainfall, extreme winds and expected flooding, the decision has been made to ensure the safety of players, staff, fans and all stakeholders," the WPGA said in a statement.
Australia's LPGA Tour player Grace Kim was to have been the star attraction of the tournament, while an associated Gold Coast Festival of Golf has also been cancelled.
Touch football postponed its national championships in Coffs Harbour in northern NSW, and Surfing Australia did likewise with the Australian boardriders grand final on the Gold Coast. Both events were scheduled for this weekend.
In soccer, Melbourne City expect Sunday's A-League Women game against Brisbane Roar at Brisbane's Perry Park to be postponed until next Tuesday or Wednesday.
And the Roar's A-League Men's squad will fly to South Australia on Wednesday, earlier than planned, to ensure Saturday's away game against Adelaide United isn't impacted.
Queensland's surf lifesaving championships scheduled from Friday to Sunday at North Kirra on the Gold Coast have been cancelled.
And the annual Mooloolaba triathlon in southeast Queensland scheduled for Saturday and Sunday is also under threat.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred is currently out to sea 600km east of Brisbane but is predicted to move towards the mainland, with initial wind gusts and heavy rain expected from late Wednesday.
NSW authorities have issued a cyclone watch in the state for the first time since 1990, joining Queensland in bracing for destructive winds, intense rain and flash flooding.
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