If you have the time, just add stops. With Skyscanner/Google flights, I am usually able to cut a lot off the price while seeing some nice places on my way to and from Aus to EU. It takes some puzzling, but flying from Aus is usually weirdly expensive and adding stops cuts the price (last time it more than halved it to stop on Bali for 2 days; what a punishment!). Philipines or Vietnam usually cut prices a lot too. Bangkok is another one but less these days. And it cuts up the journey; helps with physical issues when you are tall (and/or broad/large) as well as with the jetlag.