Regrettably the whole ASIC business is a costly pain in the arse for everyone. The ASIC serves no real purpose. It was the Howard government's kneejerk reaction to 9/11 because it wanted to be seen to be doing something to improve "security" -- not that there was ever any threat. Unfortunately no subsequent government has had the intelligence or the guts to abolish the requirement, which is just one of numerous factors strangling Australia's GA industry these days.
But is Australia a great environment to fly in? Bloody oath! Australia was made for aviation.