If your only notion of "support" or "resolving an issue" is face-to-face contact with another person, then buying online (or mail order), regardless of what the goods may be, is not for you.
Is there a "benefit" to buying online from Apple rather than a local dealer? Not necessarily. Apple can't tilt the playing field too sharply in the favor of its company-owned retail outlets without losing the loyalty and good services of their authorized dealer network.
The goal of online sales is shop-at-home convenience, but there's sometimes no substitute for an in-person experience (just how good does that Retina display look?). The Apple warranty and tech support are the same, regardless of where you buy. The goods are the same (with the exception of build-to-order options that are available only online). A local Apple Authorized Service Provider (which may be one and the same as your local Apple dealer) will honor Apple's warranty and service your goods, regardless of where they were purchased (including the Apple online store).
Apple runs a huge, worldwide organization called AppleCare that's pretty well-known for the quality of its tech support. If all you've ever done is run back to the dealer when you have an issue, you're missing out on a good thing.
Anyway, here's Apple Australia's Shopping Help web page - it's a good start to seeing what the experience can be:
https://www.apple.com/au/shop/help There's a phone number near the bottom of that page if you have further questions, or if you'd like to speak to a person while placing your order.
