There had been some decent specials with NZ to aus Recently, not so much now.
Autumn in QLD is my favourite time of year, it's starting to cool down just a bit and the nights become clear
Save Aus/NZ for when you move to LA.
What about Portugal?
Even if it's cool in Lisbon, you can drive down to the Algarve. Having said that, flights are still about $800 so if that's too much you might have to think again about Europe.