Congrats with your mate's processing time @twister. Do you know what visa he was on, before he got his 857 granted? And when would his old visa expire?
Regarding payment, then do I reckon that it is normal that DIAC take your money asap when they officially acknowledged that they have received your application. It is unfortunately not a indication that your visa soon will be granted, as you still need to have a case officer allocated etc. You can be lucky that you never official get a CO assigned before your visa is processed, but that is rare.
FYI - I applied for a 857 in Perth early May and are still waiting to get a CO allocated. Let's hope that things will pick up before the 1st of July :cool:
