I'd like to know when we can expect a release in Australia as well. None of the retailers I've spoken to seem to know when any stock will arrive. I'd hoped to give a copy to someone for Christmas, but that is starting to look like an impossibility at this point.

Like the dice app but do prefer physical dice and am looking forward to such dice being available.
I strongly believe that FFG should reduce the price of the dice-app, I am happy to pay for it but think it is in the interest of the company to minimize barriers to player entry and involvement and it would certainly be easier to get a casual curious potential player to invert $1 or $2, essentially an amount of to small to buy a coffee then the current price, which at $5 (or $8 AUS) I perceived (and others may not) as an actual purchase I had to think about before I made.
Obviously free is the ideal but I can understand FFG is a business but honestly I think the income and interest generated by making the cost minimal would provide longer term benefit and profit.

In part agree but..
The clash of professional, seasoned and expert swordsmen will become increasingly lethal and against any opponent (however skilled at their trade) who is not capable of wielding a weapon in defense a seasoned blade master will quickly cut them to pieces.
In part the question is realism vs narrative fantasy.  
I favor letting the players have a Defense skill they roll to avoid being hit.
NPC's and monsters have a Defense value which reflects their difficulty to be hit for whatever reasons or reasons be it superb skills, mystical talent, amazing equipment, incredible size/power/durability and/or supernatural ability.  So the Defense of opponents that players target is open to the storytelling narrative a young samurai may be low and experienced dark sorcerer protected by foul magics moderate and a mighty horror of the Shadowlands high.  
It is only when player clashes with player that the raw value vs. value becomes critical and then sadly a battle hardened samurai warrior probably will cut a long experienced academic courtier down very quickly unless the courtier possesses other surprises.