Hi Caz
The LCU are taking 4-6 weeks to process paper meds at the moment. What happens is that when they receive the meds, they date stamp them so that they know when they were received.
They are then processed in order of receipt. Nothing appears on the database till the Meds have ether been OK'd or have been referred to the MOC for an opinion.
If you e-mail the LCU before anything appears on the database, your e-mail will be ignored. It is as simple as that.
What with Crimble & New Year coming up, I wouldn't realistically expect the database to show anything about your meds before about the end of January and maybe not till early to mid Feb. It would be worth trying the LCU with an e-mail at around the end of Jan I would suggest.
The AHC in London are also able to answer e-mails and/or phone calls in which they can tell you what the database says, but that is all they can do. They cannot get involved with the processing of the application in any way, however. The AHC contact details are here:
Visas and migration - Australian High Commission
Cheers
Gill