Didn't want to make a new thread.
I wouldn't have a big drama with this if the upgrade process was rolled into the former CAR217 C&T department. You do your command training, and then as part of that process, are assessed for the ATPL flight test.
However currently, only CASA has authority to actually conduct the bloody flight test. My sim isn't even in Australia! The costs to the company to do this are large, and they will obviously make decisions to minimize that cost.
This effectively means no CPL FO is eligible for career progression outside the company they are in. Nobody is interested in someone with subjects only. So I either wait a million years for a command at my current company, or go hire a sim/casa fte/2nd pilot and fly them all to NZ on my own dime to get it done (christ knows how much that would cost).
CASA really needs to delegate the authority to conduct this flight test to selected members of the C&T department.