Qantas Frequent Flyer - Upgrading NRT-PER

I posted this message in the AA forum, however it seems to fit as well if not better here. Please excuse any duplication from a newbie...

Husband and I are travelling AA AUS-PER roundtrip early July. NRT-PER is a Qantas code-share.
AA tell us that we can't upgrade on the code-share flights.
Neither of us have any status on Qantas.(On AA he's EXP , I'm a lowly PLA.)
If anyone has any suggestions on how we could upgrade on the Qantas flights we'd appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.

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Upgrades on QF for partners are generally not available. QF have only recently (Sept last year) allowed their own FF's to buy international upgrades using points or upgrade credits, and the availability is managed the same as redemption seats, so is heavily restricted.

QF generally only upgrade based on operational load (ie Y cabin is oversold and space in J), and then will select QF flyers based on status.

Basically, if you want to fly J with Qantas, you need to buy a J ticket or have some status with QF.