Whilst I agree that you should be capable of using whatever navaids you have in the aircraft (at least at their basic level), I'm not sure how being able to use a VOR would have helped the pilot in this case. Moorabbin has an NDB but not a VOR. Not sure how far he got before he decided to turn back but in any event he shouldn't be stuffing around trying to dial up nav aids in IMC given his experience & predicament, he should be concentrating on executing a rate 1 turn onto a reciprocal heading on his DG and getting the hell out of there, back into VMC asap.
The trick is to not panic. Easier said than done, I know, especially if you've never been in genuine IMC before.
Sunfish - its something along the lines of being 'qualified' to use them as a primary means of navigation. Nothing stopping you from using them to help you confirm your map reading etc. But you'd need a NVFR rating or higher, have those particular aids on your license and be current etc etc...