flowers of Prunus armeniaca Français : Fleurs d’abricotier (Prunus armeniaca). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are several guidelines to follow for maximum crop yield for fruit with chill hours:

• Select varieties that have a chilling requirement no more than 20% less than local averages.

Selecting a low chill variety in a cold area will result in trees flowering too early and being damaged by late frosts.

Selecting a high chill variety in warm areas will result in little or no fruit production.

• Early flowering varieties are best in warm climates, late flowering varieties are best in cooler areas.
• Early ripening varieties are best in areas with intense summers, late ripening varieties are best in cooler summers.
• Climate extremes may eliminate certain varieties that would otherwise meet the chilling requirements, eg frost and wind events at bud break
• Trees propagated from existing trees that are acclimatised to your climate are likely to do better than those imported from other regions
• Latitude, terrain  and microclimate can affect the chilling hours received. Open slopes may receive more chilling hours than sheltered areas next to warm buildings.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data/index.shtml and

http://www.eldersweather.com.au can give you an idea of your suburbs average number of chill days by postcode

Various sellers of fruit trees publish significantly varying chilling hour requirements for the same variety. It is difficult to know the exact requirements. Experiment and ask around for local cultivar success stories…

http://scpa.org.au/bvssfruitchillhours.html has other plants you might consider.