IIRC, the 787, A380 & A350 handle TCAS RA's with the autopilot now. I'm sure I read that somewhere, but do you think I can find it now? 😛
The whole "hemispherical levels" thing has a great get out of jail free card though:
^^That bit...I went from Broken Hill to Cleve, SA via Port Pirie a few days ago, and the highest available VFR level was 8,500. At Port Pirie, I climbed up to 10,000 for the over water portion across the gulf.. That gave me the ability to return to Port Pirie, or turn 90* and make it to Whyalla, or as I lost Whyalla, continue towards the runway at Cowell, ensuring I wouldn't have to go swimming if the noise stopped. I wouldn't have had those options at 8,500, ergo, 8,500 "was not practicable"...
So long as you can justify why a VFR level is "not practicable", you're fine. Which is why I don't think ADS-B will be used for that kind of thing, besides, imagine the Civil Libertarians? "It'll start with aircraft, then they'll mandate it for vehicles, and no more speed cameras, every car will report when it goes over 100km/h!", and CASA would have a tough time proving your choice wasn't practicable in a court of law, IMHO...