The problem is that they have said 7 will be retired. If that includes the international, then that would need something to replace it.
Issue is that we don't know which 7 are going. If it all the ex-BA birds, then yes, the international is getting a refresh. It's just that no-one at Qantas has specifically said which aircraft are going.
Aren't the BA birds the ones with the highest cycle and hour counts? Would make sense to scrap the whole lot of the same type, especially considering they use RR engines and (IIRC) the QF birds use GE engines, would streamline and specialise maintenance. That and refreshing the international birds means they still have an international config to fly.
If I were a gambling man (thankfully I'm not) and it is indeed 7 planes retiring I'd put my money on the ex-BA birds resting.
According to the QANTAS website it is 16 planes getting the refurb. That fits with 23-7=16.
http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/b767-refurbishment/global/en
But the dodgy part is I keep getting the number 3 (not 7) planes are retiring... (Did AJ mention any 767s retiring in the AGM?)