No, you're not going to be able to upgrade on a Qantas flight, or any other One World partner, but I thought the OP was going to use miles on that route (to Australia), just like I do.

Good time to mention that AA customer service has always been excellent for me, and the AA web site just won an award of some sort (there's a thread over on AA about that), and is very reliable, if you book travel yourself.

A lot of factors to look at when you have to make a choice