I was speaking in more general terms about ATSB reports, LL. You know that.
But even in this case, I can understand why the communications with ATC may have confused the pilot into believing it was OK to fly at 1,000' or below on the track he ended up on. Whilst the pilot should have known the bus was coming, so should have ATC. Only in the Orwellian world of Australian aviation 'safety' can it make sense that there wasn't an added sentence in the ATC comms: "By the way, if you fly at 1,000' AMSL or below over there you're probably going to hit a mountain and die."
Centre seems to me to be able spend time telling IFR aircraft about blips and SSR returns miles separated but converging in G (which is why it isn't real G in Australia), and a lot of time telling blips and SSR returns in G that they are getting close ("two aircraft in vicinity of X. safety alert"). And it's great that that happens. But somehow it's OK for ATC to wash it hands on 'below 1,000' 'guidance' - or whatever that comms was meant to mean - because terrain clearance always remains the VFR pilot's responsibility?
"We're trained to say "no" to many things if it will or may increase workload to a potentially risky level ...". And there it is. We know who judges the potential. And, of course, there is no judgment of whether saying "no" merely moves the "potentially risky level" to an "actually higher risk level", because that's "someone else's" responsibility. And, on the basis of my experience, the outcome would have been different if the callsign had been an ATC mate's aircraft.
This is why in some places and times some grumpy arsehole will presumptively say 'no' to any 'pop up' request for clearance, no matter how busy or idle he is, because .... well, because he can and those pesky pilots should be taught that the AIP means what it says (the relevant provisions having, of course, been written by Airservices), but in other places it's obvious the person is trying his or her best to fit you in. That 'attitude' is felt and means something in some cockpits.