The VR offer was not ‘legally necessary’. It was an offer. If a pilot had more than a couple of years the offer was 9 months and three months notice. If the pilot had less than two years it was four months pay and less than 12 months the offer was three months.
Qantas didn’t have to make the offer. They could have offered nothing. They could have worked on the principle that some crew were likely to hit 65 before there was much flying back. They could have offered VR to some and not to others. That is the nature of VR. (In fact they did offer it to some and not others. It wasn’t offered to 737 crew).
They chose to make an offer of ‘early retirement’ to those over 63. Even the ATO agreed that those within 6 months (I think) of 65 it wasn’t a ‘genuine early retirement’ and their pay out was taxed differently.
Would I have liked to see a better offer? Sure. But the offer was what it was. Again, where does one draw the line in all of this?