The seven-day advance is for North America, lucky us.

If you want to avoid HKG, unless you're in a bind for SWP segments you can do SYD-JNB-LHR, although the QF segment will be two-class, they tell me.

If you want to use up some Asian segments, DPS is reasonably well served by QF, plus service DPS-SIN two or three times a week. CX has fifth-freedom SIN-BKK and of course flies directly to HKG. Out of SIN you can also get to LHR on BA. And of course you can avoid HKG also by flying SYD-LHR on QF or BA, although it stops at BKK so you get charged for Asia.