hi guys. thought i'd post up the happy end to my story. after several attempts to get the pin code from nissan japan (who never once responded to me directly), i got a call out of the blue two weeks later from ferntree gully nissan. was told they found a contact for getting pin codes and they should have an answer soon enough.
sure enough, two days later, got a call back and was told the code. then booked in a time, sent my partner around and 45min later at the dealership, all done.
for anyone interested, the remote and key was around $215, the programming was around $50. not too painful from my point of view.
lotsa <3 ferntree gully nissan!!