Australia

Maria (France) can get an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) visa which is done easily through their website. You pay by credit card and get your confirmation very quickly.
Julian (South African) had to go through a very lengthy process. In the UK they said it would take between 6 and 8 weeks.
So, Julian applied in Bangkok through the Australian Visa Application Centre.
For a short stay visa had to have proof of funds (bank account statements), flight information and a copy of the front page of the passport which you can do at their offices.
They said it would take 10-15 working days but I was going to Vietnam so they said I could apply with a photocopy of my passport and they would contact me when it was approved and I could come in and have the visa added to my passport. they did not contact me and I spent ages in Vietnam trying to get hold of the embassy. Eventually on my return to Bangkok I managed to get an appointment with the embassy to get the visa added in a short time. Normalyl I think you would give it back to VFS and they would do it. It's a new service so they have some communication kinks to remove.