POC for importing .dae into new Blenders without Collada support by shelling out to an older one with it.

import-dae.py

import bpy, os, subprocess, tempfile

# Path to a Blender that supports Collada import
old_blender_exe = 'blender-3.6.1'

def import_dae(filepath):
    filepath = os.path.abspath(filepath)

    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix="dae-import-") as tmpdir:
        temp_blend = os.path.join(tmpdir, "temp.blend")

        subprocess.run(
            [
                old_blender_exe,
                "-b",
                "--python-exit-code", "1",
                "--python-expr",
                "import bpy;bpy.ops.wm.read_homefile(use_empty=True)",
                "--python-expr",
                f"import bpy;bpy.ops.wm.collada_import(filepath={repr(filepath)})",
                "--python-expr",
                f"import bpy;bpy.ops.wm.save_as_mainfile(filepath={repr(temp_blend)})",
            ],
            check=True,
        )

        with bpy.data.libraries.load(temp_blend, link=False) as (data_from, data_to):
            data_to.objects = data_from.objects

    for ob in data_to.objects:
        if ob is not None:
           bpy.context.scene.collection.objects.link(ob)

import_dae("my-example-model.dae")