Welcome turtlemichael. I am sure you will pick up on the lingo pretty fast!

For First class awards, you really have to plan as close to the 355 day lead as you can. That is when Qantas load the flight availability into the system, and as Qantas FF members we get access to the award inventory at that time, while other airline programs (like AA, BA etc) have to wait a bit longer (330 days out I think). So if you can plan 11 months ahead, you have best chance of getting seats.

Don't just rely on the on-line QF web site for availability. You can use your points for F seats on BA and CX going to London as well.

If you are happy to go in Business class, look for more exotic routings to get you there, say via JNB, NRT, BOM etc using a combination of carriers. It might make for an interesting stopover along the way. To get these options, you have to call Qantas and talk to them about the options. Just keep asking to check all sorts of different routings until you find something that works close to your prefered dates.

As a platinum FF member (we are called WP status around here) you get access to more availability in economy class, and should be able to get seats to pretty much anywhere you like.

Also note that with the program changes coming into play in May, many people have been exchanging their points for award flights before the May 25th deadline (flights can be up to 355 days beyong that), so availability for premium seats and popular destinations is tight as a result. If you are not too adversely affected by the points requiment increase after May, you may find better availability in the months after that.

Good luck!