very helpful and professional staff. they were really proactive to help us in the needread more

Hello, We had a family emergency in last weekend, my mother…read morein law passed away in India on Fri night and I had to immediately apply for emergency visa, not knowing the procedures, I was a bit worried. I checked online got the name of Mrs Vimlesh Sharma and contacted her for assistance. All I can say is she was extremely helpful and forwarded all information necessary immediately to apply for emergency visa. I received excellent support from Madam Vimlesh over the weekend and on Monday applied for the visa in the morning and received it in the evening at vfs. I really appreciated the promptness of responses and also received a few calls from Madam Vimlesh to check and assist me, which I thought was a good touch.

Recently Renewed passport and wanted to get it connect to my active visa…read more The website was not very up to date. Found out that I "can" actually submit my request online, however, the online service was no longer there. So I printed Form 929: Change of address and/or passport details (The link to the form: https://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents/929.pdf) and submitted it to the office. Service was very friendly and fast. Went there during weekday. queue a bit. After few weeks, contacted them via office phone number, however, for some reason, it's always busy. Tried to connect almost one whole day but still can't connect to any of the staff. In the end, gave the office other visit to ask about my revised visa. Again, very friendly staff. This time, no queue (weekday as well). We can check our own visa by visiting this website: https://www.border.gov.au/Busi/Visa Overall: Horrible phone customer service, but good office staffs. Tips: So if you need anything, just stop by their office and they will help you.

Everyone in the consulate was polite and helpful which made the process a lot less intimidating…read more The only problems I had were the long waiting times (I would have been able to leave about 90 minutes after my scheduled time, making the total time spent there 105 minutes - I would advise against making hard plans afterwards in case of delays) but also being asked to wait to be called up to pay a fee, only to never be called up. This may have been easily avoided if I raised that I had read on the site that there was no issuance fee associated with my visa type, but I wasn't 100% sure so decided to wait instead of ask. If unsure, ask at any counter when they are free, they are friendly and will help you.

I went to VicRoads to have my Kiwi licence converted for use in Victoria. I called and made an…read moreappointment - the closest appointment was 2 weeks from the date of my phone call, so obviously it's a pretty popular place. On the phone they listed off a bunch of paperwork to bring and told me that I absolutely could not be late or terrible things would happen (ie I would be turned away and have to rebook my appointment). The building is pretty well marked and I was easily able to find my way to the correct waiting room for my appointment. Upon arriving upstairs a nice lady checked my name on her form and confirmed that I did actually have an appointment, before giving me a form to fill out and guiding me over to a chair. After about five minutes of waiting my name was called (right on time!) and I was greeted by a cheerful man who seemed to know what was going on. After providing the correct paperwork and identification I was asked to sign a few things, pay for the licence, and have my picture taken. The whole thing probably took under 15 minutes and I walked away with a temporary licence, a real one to come in the mail in 10 days time. After making an appointment, arriving on time and bringing the right paperwork, my experience with VicRoads Carlton was nothing but positive. I have a feeling that if you don't have an appointment, are late, or don't bring the right stuff, you're going to be in for a frustrating time.

I have been putting off my licence renewal for longer than legally recommended, its boring, its $$…read moreand .......I needed a new photo. Which means foregoing the convenience of online payment and visiting the bureaucratic nightmare that is Vic Roads. Take a number, take a seat, wait, fill this out, wait, wrong queue, fix this, wait, pay, wait, leave. I suggest going with a friend for morale support. I recently went with a friend who also had to pay her registration and the experience was better than anticipated. Our staff member Stacey was actually super helpful and we didn't have to wait longer than 10 minutes to be seen. There was a complication that was dealt with cooly and we were out of there in around 30 minutes total. HOWEVER...as we were leaving we realised we had just beaten the lunch/afternoon rush and people were queuing 10 deep stretching back to the stairs. Like roadworks a visit to Vic Roads is unavoidable, don't go if you need to be somewhere in a rush and bring a book.

This is my local library and I have been using it regularly since I moved to this suburb two…read moredecades ago. The library has a pretty good selection of books, magazines, DVDs and CDs to borrow. As this is Coburg there are a large selection of books in languages other than English - Greek, Turkish, Italian, Spanish, Serbian, Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, French and Hindi. It also has meeting rooms, photocopiers, computers with public Internet access and a few quite study rooms. However, the library is a converted supermarket and this presents two problems: it has flooded in the past with heavy rain (although a new extensive drainage system at the front door might stop this in the future) and, although it carpeted, it is still a large supermarket-like space. This means that the children's part of the library is not separated from the rest of the space and the noise of the children carries everywhere. I look at the display of new books, the magazines and the DVDs; then borrow a copy of Art & Australia magazine and a DVD the old ABC comedy series Frontline. Outside of the library, along the north window, there is a long row of benches that are very popular with Coburg's locals.

Everyone that works here has been super friendly and helpful. I love that they give you free login…read morepassword for the WiFi. You can print black and white papers for $0.20. There always seems to be a long line for the women's bathroom..

Oct 31st 2022 = thank you, so rare to have a positive customer service experience at Centrelink but…read moreFootscray did it. Friendly, welcoming, security person, staff were available immediately to assist, they were smiling, caring, friendly. No Wait Time. Given document I needed immediately. WOW. You need to train staff at other Branches. I

The staff here are so emotionally riven by the constant procession of ciggy butt brain career…read morejunkies that if you're a migrant just beginning to learn English or a hapless student, they'll throw palm leaves at your feet as you walk through the entrance a la Jesus at the Jerusalem city limits. I went through this office for a year, fantastic service, 8/10 would be long-term unemployed again.

I really should have checked the website before heading down to the library this morning to drop…read moreoff my books as I got there at 11 am and was there two hours before opening. Seriously? - they open at 1 pm. That would have to be the laziest opening hours for a Monday that I've come across. I'm going to apply for a job. The library is hidden in the back of an old church built in 1886. It is shadowed by the magnificent Collingwood Town Hall and the not so magnificent Collingwood train station. Set a little off the street the front garden is quite pretty and green. Inside is very renovated and basic. There is an OK selection of books, music and film, and being a part of Yarra libraries; you are able to get things in from numerous sources. Just make sure to fit in your visit some time in the afternoon.

Our group recently stopped atthe State Library of Victoria where the story of Ned Kelly and Redmond…read moreBarry was brought to life in the now infamous bullet proof armor permanently on exhibit. The La Trobe reading room (a tourist attraction in its own right) was packed with students on a Public holiday nonetheless. Stunning! Opened in 1913, this magnificent octagonal reading room is six stores high and can house 32,000 books and 320 readers at its desks. When it was built, the enormous reinforced-concrete structure was the largest in the world. Known as the Domed Reading Room until it was refurbished and reopened in 2003, the building is an architectural feat.

Three floors with two exhibition spaces. I also use the study room and peruse to magazines.read more