Sorry if I have contributed to your anxiety, Damian. Can't be that difficult... little old ladies all over Japan sharpen their kitchen knives nightly between their last cup of green tea and putting the cat out for the night.
If you saw me yesterday rehabbing an old nakiri knife on a belt sander you would relax about anything else you could do to it. The worst you can do with waterstones is to end up with an edge that is less than optimal.
Won't take you long to be more expert in sharpening Japanese knives than any sharpening service you will find in Brisbane.
If you are looking for someone to get you going perhaps contact Des.K. who is a member of this forum. He lives on the Gold Coast and did woodworker training in Japan, which would have included the traditional sharpening techniques that are also used on kitchen knives.
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