Thanks jmrocky.
I rang Qantas this morning and after the customer service officer referred the matter to her director she responded in the negative.
Qantas will NOT REFUND the change fees according to their policy at that time and the fact that the borders weren't closed at that time...
1. On 22 January we booked return sale flights on Qantas SYD to FCO for departure SYD on 6 April. The flights were booked direct with Qantas on Emirates operated aircraft. The flights were sale flights subject to a $225 change fee per ticket.
2. We had also booked train seat reservations from...