FIFA have given permission to the A-League and competitions from five other countries to run offline trials of video assistant referees.
The A-League will be one of the first competitions in the world to trial the groundbreaking use of video replays on contentious calls, but fans are unlikely to see it in action until at least the 2017-18 season.
FIFA have taken the first step towards implementing video assistant referees (VARs), approving "offline" tests for use in six countries including Germany's Bundesliga, the league and cups in Portugal, Major League Soccer in the United States as well as unspecified competitions in Brazil and the Netherlands.
Replays will be used to check game-changing incidents such as penalty decisions, red cards and goals scored from line-ball offside calls.
As part of initial offline experiments to be run this year, Football Federation Australia (FFA) will use VARs to assess video replays and make calls on match-changing incidents -- but without any communication to the on-field referee.
Subject to the trial's success, fully fledged live tests that impact the course of the game could be introduced as early as the 2016 Club World Cup in Japan in December, before being opened to other competitions by early 2017.
One of the top European clubs involved is believed to be considering going live halfway through their season, however it's understood FFA is uncomfortable with the idea of introducing such game-changing measures midway during the A-League season for fear of potential inconsistencies.
It means fans are unlikely to see the live video replays in action before October at the start of the 2017-18 season.
Other questions include whether existing referees will be trained as video officials or specific ones appointed, and if broadcasters will be allowed to run the replay footage as is done with the Hawk-Eye system in tennis or cricket's Decision Review System (DRS).
Chief executive David Gallop said FFA had embraced the VARs concept, describing it as part of the A-League's rejuvenation.
"The eventual introduction of VARs will be a breakthrough for referees in game-changing moments and will greatly enhance the experience for fans and viewers," Gallop said.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he hoped VARs would be used to support referees at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.