I am very fortunate to have a performance car specialist at my local Midas (of all places), as well as access to Michael South Engineering - he is one of the leading Subaru performance gurus on the east coast. Both have quoted around $1300 including all parts and labour to replace the clutch, pressure plate and machine the flywheel. Apparently (as advised by Subaru, Midas and MSE) it is almost a full day's work to remove and replace, as the intercooler + piping, turbo and a section of the exhaust needs to come out to get the transmission out!

I have just received a phone call from Subaru Australia (after approaching their public relations manager directly) and it's looking like they may be offering a more positive resolution, I have agreed for them to look further into it and will know by tomorrow morning if it's acceptable. I apologise for being slightly cryptic but I don't want to prejudice anything at this point.

I really appreciate the information and input in the posts above and will hopefully have good news tomorrow.