Margins are as thin here as anywhere. It's not just schools charging that kind of money for Robinsons. $A800-1,000/hr is the going hire rate for a R44 with pilot. If it was possible to sell them cheaper, someone would.
Another difference is that Instructors here are usually more experienced than in the US, and that flight training is regulated a lot more. No Pt. 61 training down under.
Going to the US to train, then coming back to Australia and converting is not that easy, and about to become a lot harder, as CASA is going to increase the minimum hours for CPL conversions.