OP, if you were willing to do the flying at Redcliffe, I know somewhere you could go where the prices are quite reasonable and the people there are nice and friendly, it's as close to a club atmosphere as you can get. PM me if you want more details.
As to your questions about RA AUS, it is indeed a 5 hour conversion course, however I wouldn't consider it converting backwards, some of the RA aircraft can be a bit of a handful to fly, you have less momentum and they don't have some of the handy design features that reduce things like adverse yaw. Plus when your aircraft only weighs 600kg any crosswind present will be felt. They are great for developing your basic flying skills. Also of the 5 hours conversion only 1 hour has to be dual. All your PPL qualifications will be recognised, however RA AUS doesn't have a CTA endorsement, so the way you get around that is by using your PPL priveleges for the CTA access. It counts for your 3 takeoff and landings. As for a AFR, if you were smart you would avoid doing one of them for the foreseeable future by adding another rating, like csu etc instead of the BFR. And passing a casa test will renew your RA AUS BFR as well.