Originally Posted by davistev
So it was really a case of a UK national being required to turn up for interview at Australian Embassy abroad.
More likely someone (a) buying a ticket for cash for (b) same day travel on (c) a flight from Indonesia.
I'm not sure how much information the ETA system gets when the airline does the visa for you. Generally, it's just last name, country and passport number. Presumably, there would be no way for them to know you had an Australian visa. I doubt the ETA system knew you paid cash. Maybe same day travel? Maybe Indonesia? Maybe Garuda?