Am I missing something here? I have been making night VFR circuits for years with ATC permission and direction. HBA, LST, MKY, etc. Are you telling us they are illegal, "facts overrated"?
No. How did you descend into the circuit area? You have to have a way of getting there IAW CAR 178. Its cryptic but there should be an answer.
178 has no relevance in the/this visual circuit scenario
In Australia 178 applies for every moment during an IFR flight below LSALT/MSA/MVA. You must comply and night VFR procedures are no good to an RPT operator.