Afternoon flights PER - MEL on 24 December???

[vetrade]

Looking for departures after 2pm from PER - MEL (direct) on 24th December but found only 2 VA options, 1 x QF and 1 X Tiger - the earliest being 5.05pm.
Last December we flew MEL - PER just before Xmas and my recollection was that we were spoiled for choice regarding flight times so the lack of options for the reverse direction is surprising.
Can someone advise if it's routine for airlines to add more PER - MEL flights to their schedule in the lead-up to Xmas, and if so, when they are likely to be released?

 

[basso]

Might happen, QF have a flight around 3pm, but if it is not showing up, then perhaps sold out.

With travel times and time differences, there's not usually much leaving for the east after 5:30 pm until the red eyes leave.

 

[vetrade]

QF doesn't normally have the 3.00pm flight on Sundays - and of course the 24th just happens to be a Sunday.