Hi....I am an aussie expat living in LAX. I have done the LAX-SYD trip many times.

Qantas ia a great airline and you should have a good flight. I would not bother about getting an exit row for business class....the seat pitch is huge anyway.

You really want to be in the Upper Deck of the 747-400...thats the best seat. You probably are in the upper deck as you mentioned the exit row(as I don't believe Bus Class downstairs has ant exit rows?)

The problme with the exit row seats on the upperdeck is that you have limited overhead storage. You also have limited "wall storage". The upperdeck have neat storage bins below the window, but these are limited if you have the exit row seats.

So what you really want is upper deck...non-exit row...non-bulkhead.

Since its such a long flight I would seriously consider getting some sleeping tablets (like Ambient)

While in Sydney a few musts are:
* Harbor cruise
* Visit the Queen Vic Building (shopping)
* If its still there a great restaurant is "40"
* Go to the Botantical Gardens
* Go up Center Point Tower

Hope this helps