Regional airlines in Aus pay their FOs about 60 grand Aussie (45k US) per annum. Median house price in Sydney is near a million AUD, more if you want to live within 30 mins of the airport you'll be commuting to daily if you're based in Sydney. I know CX has its issues but if you think this is a good deal, good luck. The reality is there is no pilot shortage in Australia, it's just that these regional carriers can't hang on to crew as they pay a relative pittance so their pilots disappear as soon as something better (pretty much anything) comes along. The adversarial IR and HR culture at many Australian carriers could also teach CX management a thing or two.