Certainly sounds like a very thorough flight test for the award of an ATPL. Makes you wonder, though, about the hundreds and hundreds of CPL holders who received their ATPL's in the past 40 years who obtained their ATPL pre-Part 61 by simply reaching the min required hours in their log book and sent their $35 to CASA and received their ATPL soon after.
The result ((a ATPL licence in hand) was the same before and after Part 61, apart from the astronomical difference in cost to the applicant. Will the Part 61 ATPL produce a better airline pilot from those who were fortunate enough to get their ATPL before Part 61 ripped apart their bank savings? I don't think so...