distance shouldn't be the most important issue when choosing a course, quality first, you can always get digs.
Couldn't agree more.
Think of it this way:-
Course A costs £300 and is close.
Course B costs £500 including B&B for whatever time, and is much much better.
Your whole business is relying on you choosing the right course to learn the skills. So the priority should be the course that gives you that.
If I were in your shoes and I knew of a course in Australia that gave me the competitive edge on my future competition, I'd consider paying ever penny I had in my bank account on it. That's clearly the extreme, there's no such thing, but make sure you at least make sure you use a reputable centre with plenty of good unbiased feedback!
Take a look at
Tiling Courses | Tiling Courses | Wall Tiling Courses | Floor Tiling Course for the course listings (we've removed the less reputable ones, or we've not heard of them which could be questioned also) and we have feedback in the feedback forum here for many of them.
I suggest you go visit two or three that have penty of good feedback on this forum (two other tile forums are actually owned by the training centre's and their feedback is clearly 'well managed' for their benefit), and listen to them, take a look around, and seriously consider the options yourself.
If you can PM (private message) a few members on the forum who have left feedback and then call them, it'd really benefit you. Much of the feedback may by old and speaking to those guys could really benefit your choice.
Good luck with the future. I wish you all the best.