The preparation for the last tour 3 years ago was a disaster: three tests on slow, meandering tracks in the UAE followed up with a couple on greentops in New Zealand. This shoddy scheduling resulted in the bowlers having no clue on which length to bowl in Australia.
The test team should travel to Australia in mid-October and play a minimum of 3 four-day matches against the state sides. Although, that would be difficult with the sheffield shield going on at the same time. In that case, it would be prudent to take a larger group of players (25-30) and schedule four-day matches amongst themselves.