As far as process goes:. Apply on line, taking much care to get details correct. 5 year travel history needed ( countries not dates). Pay abt A$250 at the time, get an appointment dates and time ( earliest was 6 weeks hence for me).
Arrive Melbourne consulate 15 mins before appointment as requested. Queue to check in 5 mins; queue for security 15 mins, next queue for next stage 20 people, 45 Mins; next queue for ' interview' 15 Mins. Get to booth for interview 1 hour after appointment time. Interview takes 5 Mins, including my stating that I was travelling to Iran and him typing it in. Pay a fee for the actual visa. Visa approved. Delivered back to me in a week ( I hope).
Was told the waits were typical. An 'appointment' isn't your exclusive time - effectively the 'mid morning session'.
Most people in the queue weren't Australian citizens and had bundles of stuff with them. I had 3 bits of paper and my passport, and only needed one of the bits of paper!
Of course the real PITA will be having to go through the manual immigration queues at US airports.