I picked the reader I wanted (with lots of help from different posts here) and ordered it online through Amazon and used a mail forwarding company.
I didn't buy the reader from DA direct because the $449 pricetag put me off a bit.
For the Sony PRS-600 I paid in total
US$ 281 for the reader + US$8.50 for mail forwarding + US$40 for shipping
= US$ 329.50
roughly AU$355.
And I'm a happy chappy