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.

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.

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.

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

Victorian Consumer and Business Centre is the place to go for information, help, and anything else…read moreyou could possibly need when it comes to setting up your own business or organisation. I went in when I first founded my group, hoping to pick up a pile of leaflets that would tell me, in detail, what it was I had to do to register and run (legally) my group. I got lots more - I got printouts of the details on their website, forms, advice, a tip on what to apply for and help with the process of application. When I came back a few weeks later, money in hand and name in mind, I found it really easy to register the group and to become incorporated. The lady behind the counter was patient as we dealt with the issue of the name I wanted being taken, she let me call my second in charge and talk it out without trying to send me away or make me feel small and disorganised. It was a really positive experience and I recommend going in person rather than doing the whole thing by post.