I think so. I'm surprised that Australia has a 4.6 odds of winning and a 2.9 overall odds of qualifying. Despite the fact that Peru is a strong team, these are too pessimistic estimates for Australia. I think that in such circumstances betting on Australia would be a logical move because winning looks more likely than the bookmakers show us.
Great! Then I'm definitely putting in a small bet on that -- Aussies and Kiwis both have always almost been put at high-value odds because they do end up losing/drawing a lot against UEFA and Concacaf teams. I should know, I pick them quite a lot when odds are above 5/1 on ML heh.
But they play in hot Qatar so I wonder is Australia might prefer that... if Peru play at home, the high altitudes always suck the life out of opponents but elsewhere their inferior height is a problem.
By the way, yes! I completely forgot that the play-off will be held in Doha and at least it does not give any advantage to Peru and perhaps gives some advantage to Australia. In any case, the result will be more random than if these teams played at home, so in such conditions, betting on a formal outsider looks like the right decision.