I stand corrected and am always willing to learn.
The problem is the "sim check ride" as you termed it, or LST, or whatever the relevant country calls it. It's up to the people that you do that check with to determine how much training you need beforehand and that was my primary point when I said "imagine how some organisations take advantage and will require more hours in the simulator than others." Some organisations look at your experience on a particular type and decide that you can go straight into the check ride. Others decide that you need training first and all the $$$$s that that involves. There are no clear-cut rules as far as I've been able to ascertain and so you're left to the vagaries of sharks, in some cases, or nice people in others. I was obviously incorrect to say that a course completion certificate is required but it's still up to the ATO to 'approve' you before you do a check ride with them and that has the potential to be very expensive unless you do your homework and find a company that assesses your experience realistically and doesn't just see you as a revenue stream.