"Does not look like something we would do in aus."
Of course not. Because we have this idiotic way of building eaves. Look at figure 3 in link below. If gutter overflows the water will go onto the hardieflex and then into the cavity - because the front of the gutter is higher than the back. And that is the real reason for the weepholes.
But if the eave is built like in figure 1, with the extra "optional" courses of bricks, then this would not be a problem.
I have never seen houses with the extra courses, but I had to fix 2 that had water problems as they were like in figure 3.
Also, in the link below one person says
"Gutters that overflow back into your eaves and wall cavity shouldn't be allowed. . Why the heck are there still designs available that do that?"
Yes, why the heck?
https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/General-Discussion/Chat/Hardieflex-Eaves-WA-Brains-Trust-help-?page=1
(20min delay)