To play devils advocate....Would outsourcing the selection process be the best option?
I would imagine that QF would narrow down the requirements to apply for selection to include only those people they wish to select and not many more. Then the outsourced company can provide only reccommendations to QF as to who is the better choice. QF will then still have the final say regardless of this.
I used to see this at Ansett many lifetimes ago when a new type would come along. The management (and senior Pineapple Club members) would decide the criteria to be eligible to attend the training. They would of course work backwards from the qualifications held by the PC members they wanted to train, thereby excluding the majority of the workforce from getting a look in.
Ansett used to have a course selection list. If you were at the top of the list you got the next course (unless it was a new type then refer above).
The guys at the top liked the system, the guys at the bottom did not. It was only around for a couple of years or so before the airline dissolved.
I do not think you will see a fair type of course selection process no matter what system is in place at QF as they can all be manipulated to suit certain requirements.
GB