The CAA down here does not accept a type rating unless it was done with a company whose program they accept. The classic 3/4/500 series is no good I'm afraid. My friend the training captain there originally did his in Seattle, did the classic first and the NG as an add-on, purely to expand his ability to get a job. ALTEON is also in Oz I think, and there was a place called ETA in Melbourne that did the NG, but it wasn't cheap. My friend who just got on with PB did hers in Brisbane, I think at ALTEON, but I'll have to check.
It was a good idea to do the online app with expression of interest for long haul. The expression is online but it is my understanding that it will be seperate from VB, and the hiring will run through a contract company as with PB (apparently they can't use the Virgin brand over the pacific as it is owned by SQ; go figure). The poop is that they are taking strictly 20% of drivers from VB, so there will be lot's of positions available on the B777's. CX guy's will only come back if the pay is something like $220K, or that is what they say. It will more likely be in the $180K range as with Jet Star international. I assume that a good number of Aussie EK pilots will be looking to come back and I imagine that with B777 ratings and time it would be looked on as quite favourable by both Virgin and the Aussie CAA. That said, would you want your new airline to have mostly pilots coming in who are ticked at their current employer and know each other? Likely not, so you should see some outside hiring. Long haul jet experience would of course be a plus.
The ATP conversion here was not too bad for me. I've heard some say that the Aussie one is not too bad if you have the right time in your log book. The NZCAA is up front about what you require. If you meet the minimum time requirement then you'll just need that one written exam and the check ride.
I'll try and find out about licence requirements for the op at Virgin for new hires. Likely it will be much the same as everybody else, you will have to have the 'ability to convert your foreign certificate before you are offered a job'. . .easily, which means you've done what I explained. I don't know for sure, but I think you can pretty safely assume this to be the case.