Dick,
The advice your friend has been given is wrong, the Cessna 650 was issued with an Australian type acceptance data sheet in 1999.
http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_asset...nload/a160.pdf
It will not be the first of type, there is also no requirement to get an aircraft prepared for an Australian CofA in Australia, it is a commercial decision where they choose to do the work.
A decent prepurchase inspection would identify the work required to meet the Australian requirements, and that would be factored into the purchase price.
Sounds like there is avionics work to be done, which maybe a lot cheaper if the aircraft flew via the US enroute to Australia.