Take it from a Pom in exile in Sydney
I've given the matter some attention and the beer here really isn't that bad. Sure, if you take your beer seriously you wouldn't drink the VB, the Carlton or the Tooheys any more than you'd have a Carling or a wifebeater back home. There are decent options though.
As already mentioned by the balloonanautist, Coopers make a couple (I like the green one, called Pale Ale but isn't, more of a cloudy live light ale, think Summer Lightning) and if it's a crisp lager you're after, Bluetongue, which is probably rare outside Sydney as it's brewed in the Hunter Valley, is deliciously hoppy and bitter (although still a class apart from the multitude of Bavarian Beer Cafes around town offering litres of Stiegl, Paulaner, Spaten and so on, it does a good job and is affordable by the case).
For real ales, if you put the effort in and visit the likes of the Admiral Nelson in the Rocks or the Red Oak brewery in the CBD there are some excellent beers to be found (the Organic Pale Ale in the latter is a personal favourite).
On the subject of Fosters, whilst you don't often see the lager on tap here in Sydney, their Fat Yak, which is a bit like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, is popping up more often and is very quaffable and something a revelation considering who makes it.
It's a bit different outside of Sydney, I grant you. Tasmania does better than Queensland and Victoria in my experience and I haven't spent enough time out west to form an opinion, but you can be sure that when I do I'll be sure to bore you with it. Cheers.
Oh yes, big well done to Mr Balloonanautist for getting the record and also for getting your live tracking to work so well. Good luck with the next one.