I am going to use this thread to document the progress or lack thereof, for future reference in case others accidentally make the same mistake.

This afternoon (Australia morning) called the +61 2 6196 0196 Global Service Center number. This time got a lady rep who again tried to pull up my information using my HKSAR passport number, DoB, PoB to no avail. Like the guy this morning our time, she could not find me exists in the Australian Visa data base. Instead of telling me to get the Form 929, she told me to find out what the Visa Grant Number and Client ID (the Visa applicant) first. Without those 2 pieces of info, she claims it is impossible to find me in the data base...

It now becomes really puzzling - IF passports are so important, just HOW could full detailed information of a passport that has an ETA attached, cannot be located in their system, therefore no way to tell whether the passport holder is "On Shore" or "Off Shore". They need the actual Visa Grant Number and Client ID to locate such a person?!

I thought, and most others probably, too - that a passport that has used to enter a country, should be "registered" in the immigration system of any country. That is why those immigration officers would scan your passport or key in information to the system to locate you.

If a passport is not able to pull up any Visa information, as per BOTH reps I talked to today, then just HOW the airline stuff can verify your passport have the valid Visa to enter Australia when you check in for your flight?

I am very puzzled by the seeming failure of finding our existence in the Australia Visa system. Just how they keep track of visitors' entries and exits, when Visa Grant Number is the only mean to locate the visitor's data in their data base?

Does anyone see the above being very illogical, that a passport could not pull up the holder's entry status to Australia? Or rather, does not even exist in the data base of the immigration dept this Global Service center staff use?