Just to add to the uncertainty. Qantas haven't announced/decided where the next 787 route will be, so they can not allocate slots on the later aircraft as they don't know what base the pilots will be in. I'd guess this would effect new hire pilots too as they would probably need to tell you where you are going to be based before offering you the job.
If they were really smart, (which I hear they are not), they might even try to hire guys resident in certain cities to the base they live in. ie. if you live in Perth you might be more likely to get a 787 PER base position. This is just a guess though, but it could lead to further delays while we wait to find out where it will fly to/from.