Yes, fairly straight forward (if somewhat arduous) process.
Agreed!
Jaguar...
The process really is pretty simple - a bit of paper work. The only frustrating thing is the waiting unless you get thrown into a spin and have the visa approved in two and a half weeks like my wife did.
Still not sure why... but we put the documents in and made the appointment... my wife went for the interview and said it was more like meeting with a friend for a chat and within a couple of weeks or so she got a phone call saying "if you can enter Australia by XX/XX/XXXX your visa will be approved."
A quick phone call to me and we were off booking plane tickets!
The whole process was so simple and pain free that my wife sent a letter and a photo of our wedding to the interviewer afterwards thanking her for her help.
immi.gov.au lays it out pretty simply... I've never heard of one being denied. I think the average processing time used to be 5 months but that changes.
Best of luck down the track.
(btw the Aust Embassy has been on a "customer service" drive over the past few years. We've had family get tourist visas to come and visit us and they have been asked to respond to surveys (once in person after the interview and twice on the phone) with questions like:
- "Were you happy with the service you received?"
- "Was the interviewer polite and helpful?"
- "Was the waiting time acceptable to you"
- "Is there anything we can do to improve our services?"
My MIL still thinks this is very strange for an embassy!