Going off to another country to do your ATPL as an Australian pilot is looked down on by many operators as taking the easy option, however a foreign pilot coming to Australia has no option but to convert his licence and won't face the same prejudice but not having passed the local exams will go against him.
Back in the early 2000s, Virgin Blue weren't bothered as long as you had the correct ticket but then a few converted applicants showed deffencies and the Aussie exams were required from then on. A few people with FAA to CASA ATPLs wrote all the subjects to have the exam credits listed on their printout. Some failed and had their licences reduced to CPL because of it.