Its bigger than Australia. The split actually started in the early 80s when you had two American offshoots from the IPF. After drug testing was introduced, only the IPF went down that road as it was affiliated with the International Olympic Committee (powerlifting is a World Games sport).
What is now the WPC has been around for so many years that WPC-style powerlifting has evolved as almost a different sport to IPF-style powerlifting. Not saying one is better than the other - it's just different. IPF has chosen to go down a road to try and emulate IWF weightlifting - WADA, less weight classes, less age divisions, IOC affiliation. WPC has let things evolve with the lifters desire to push the envelope on the actual weights lifted, which is why they have more equipment choices, monolift, etc.
Then you've got all the various shades that have developed in between.
Different people have a preference for the different styles of powerlifting - just like some people are rugby union and some are rugby league. To an outsider who grew up with Aussie rules, union and league look like the same sport, but they obviously are not.
Assuming you could get past the international politics and the historical split specific to Australia, you couldn't have a sporting organisation which ran a non-tested and properly tested division in Australia. A proper drug testing program with out of comp testing relies on Federal funding. The Australian Sports Commission won't do this for a sporting body that has a non-tested division. It's as simple as that.
Name another sport in Australia which has a single governing body and runds tested and untested divisions? There isn't one. The closest parallel to powerlifting is boxing - multiple federations with different rules, different rankings, different titles, different records.
