"...you must be already employed in that line of work to be able to claim" (my quote)

Sorry, I'll explain further. I did not mean that an endorsement that doesnt relate to your current position can be claimed. You can't claim for costs that are related to even a promotion with your current employer prior obtaining that promotion.

As has been pointed out you need to have commenced employment to be entitled to claim. This relates directly to any new position. There are many examples around particularly in these days of fluid employment in aviation.

The key refernce for the ATO will be the date on the receipt for your payment. It needs to be after your commencement date. Arrangements can often be made with your new employer for any payments to be made as a lump sum after commencement.

Out of curiosity, anybody know if the Cruise FO reqs the same as those posted on staffcv for A320 FOs... i.e. 3000TT/1000PIC?? Surely not. Or are they the same as for QF DESO?

Oh, plus the willingness to fork out $34K++ :*