Originally Posted by yhm71

Thanks again for the feedback. We have already planned a stay in Melbourne at the end of the trip and don't have much time overall in Australia, which is why we want to go on directly to Sydney.
I've ended up booking a flight MEL-SYD with a big time buffer on QF using BA Avios. There seems to be excellent availability on this route. If there is a big delay leaving LAX, I figure I can perhaps change, in the worst case cancel the booking and only lose the $25 in fees.