OK, I just got off the line with the Frequent Flyer team. I was informed that there is a change to the terms and conditions on the website (as I posted above) for 2nd and subsequent-year green tier members.
It seems that if you successfully get the green tier a 2nd or subsequent time, you need to wait until THE END OF THE NEW MEMBERSHIP YEAR before you can get your bonus.
What a rort!!! I was counting on these status credits to retain gold status.
@Mattg this could be an interesting topic to get Qantas' response to for publication. How can they see this is fair when its undocumented, and contradicts their terms and conditions for green tier?