Most major ports in Australia to Dubai, UAE return from around $900. On Emirates.
Dates from Feb-June 2019.
Example flight from ADL in link (direct).
Emirates is a code share with Qantas and creditable for points.
RB is not direct flight though, but with a stopover in Brunei for 1.5-2hrs.
Twice got stuck in Brunei for 4-5hrs due to technical issues and they had to get different aircraft. The problem with Brunei being a small aircompany they do not have a spare aircraft in case of any issue.
I can totally recommend the UAE for a trip, just spent a week driving around it. Dubai itself I would recommend the Burj Khalifa at sunrise, taking a boat across the old Dubai creek area, heading down to the Black Tap craft beer bar at Jumeriah next to the sailboat Burj Al Arab for drinks and views of the Burj from the beach and of course the stupidity large shopping malls are a must for a first time visit.
But my favourite place is Abu Dhabi. The Grand Mosque, The Louvre Museum, The Palace and the lush affordable hotels keep me coming back.
Outside of the cities the mountains are amazing. I drove up Jebba Hafeet which is featured in the new Top Gear where Chris drove the Bugatti Chiron. The views are great and you can see across to the Oman border.
You sound like a guy. I strongly recommend against going if anyone reading this is female.
I saw heaps of female travellers. Problem is they don’t respect the laws of the country. Dress conservative (I did and I’m a guy) and be humble, the grand mosque has full gown outfits you can borrow to visit as a female if you are wearing inappropriate attire.
Remember, it’s not Bali or Thailand
Royal Brunei have an offer Mel to DXB (Dubai ) for 730 $ return