John; There is quite a bit of misleading information in this thread.
If you are in Melbourne then I suggest you go and talk to the folks at AITC / Kangan TAFE to map you out a plan to get licenced. Take your JOE/SOE's and everything also you have with you.
Don't waste your time with CASA, they can only quote you the regs, it is the Part 147 you need to talk to.
The Part 66 is not as bad as some would have you believe (OK it is badly drafted and was badly executed by CASA)'. But it can be achieved in much shorter time although is more costly than getting a CAR31 licence.
Before you go knocking on any doors you need to know the actions, sequence, cost and time to get licenced. And if you can knock over the easy ones.
If you came to my office looking for a job, sure the first question I would ask is "what licences do you have". If you are only an AME, and if you seemed to have a decent attitude, then the second question would be "how soon can you get licenced". That answer would determine if there were more questions.
Don't be put off that the various Part 147 schools might give you slightly different answers, in the end they can all get you licenced, just for various reasons they have slightly different methods.