Rex do pay you from day 1 - about $25k for the first 3 months while you are training and prior to be checked to line. Good luck living in Syd on that.... if that's where you are based. Training is excellant and exceptionally thorough done in ML. Last I heard bonded $9000 for 2 years, reducable every 3 months I think after checked to line. Looking at a min of 4 years till command. Check out the award for Salary as an FO on SAAB340. You pay $250 for the privelidge of the interview / sim ride. So, too bad if JQ,
VB, PB etc call you for an interview after 6 months with Rex. That $30k endorsement just cost you about $38k due Rex bond.... oh yeah and they'll ask you that in the interview. If you tell the truth and say you are ambitious and want to fly jets for QF, CX, JQ,
VB, etc and you would take the interview if offered then "you're not really a company man then are you". (And their shirts are blue...)
Sunnies / Easterns... $10k for the Dash training. Very good and thorough as well. You will get cut and lose your $$ if you don't pass your sims and check to line. You also fly an a/c with a red rat on tha tail, if that excites you. Know your stuff for the interview and treat it just like a QF mainline interview. If you didn't get through the psych and skills with QF then it doesn't mean you won't be accepted by any means. A bit of low moral at present with a lot of Capts reminicing about the old days, poor management, poor aircraft, etc - basically what you'll find at nearly every airline.
Anyway, I hope above helps. Am more than happy to corrected by others in the know as what I've written comes from mates working at both and whom have come from both. Again, if anything needs correcting, jump in, but don't go down the usual Pprune thing of getting petty and nasty, eh?