Ineffective and unhelpful airline

I booked my flight from Brisbane to Johannesburg with Qantas in July 2017 to fly in February 2018. Due to health reasons I cancelled the flight as my wife must undergo major heart surgery in January 2018. I phoned the Qantus call centre on 3 occasions. Waiting time for the phones to be answered was 45 minutes, 55 minutes and 75 minutes. Staff unhelpful and even with a surgeons certificate Qantus would not refund me the full fare. I,m sure they have since sold the seats again. Having mostly travelled with Qantas in the past I will definately by considering other airlines in the future.