This is one of the issues- the PiCs lack of experience. At 3500 TT the PiC only just met the requirements for a job at Pel-Air as a First Officer 20 years ago.
Whichever way you look at it, 3500TT is a lot of flying experience - especially when you can be a qualified flying instructor with less than 250TT. RAAF pilots are flying supersonic fighters in command with less than 300 TT.
It is all relative and it seems to me that Australia has always been spoilt for so many pilots available compared to Asia where for example 250 hour TT first officers are second in command of wide-bodied jet transports.