There is no charge (for the passenger) if UA or AA request the ETA/visa on behalf of a ticketed passenger, as they do for all ticketed passengers from the US. I don't know if UA or AA pay the Australian government for the ETA/visas or not, but I do know that in 2003 AA got it for me without a charge just for having AA-marketed flights (on Qantas) on an AA itinerary.

May I suggest this website: http://travel.state.gov/australia.html, under "Entry Requirements":

"Americans may enter with an Australian visa or, if eligible, through Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). The ETA, which replaces a visa and allows a stay of up to three months, is free of charge and is available from airlines and many travel agents in the United States."

I used the above method to obtain my ETA through United Airlines last July. Things may have changed since then and I do apologize in advance if that makes my posting appear to be "misleading" or that it contains "bad info". I can assure you that it wasn't intentional.

Well I got it for free too the last time I went to Australia. I just called Qantas again and the woman told me its $25 to have Qantas issue the ETA and $20 on the website. Why can UA and AA request it and get it for free but Qantas the airline of Australia charges? WHen we got the tickets AA never even mentioned the ETA or visa and when I called AA they said call Qantas or the consulate.

A travel agent MAY do one for free, if you buy a ticket through them... or they may not, as if the airlines are going to charge a fee, they will too. If you bought a ticket through an agent, I sure would ask, as it takes them about 5 minutes to do in their computer system.

I flew to Australia in May 2004 and UA took my passport info over the phone and had it issued electronically for no charge whatsoever.

First of all, just because other people's experience is, or seems to be, different from yours, that doesn't mean that they are misleading you or lying. Ever heard the expression "YMMV?"

Second of all, I will add another data point here. In mid-April of this year I booked an award on United for a business class trip to Australia (from SFO), for mid-May to early June. While I was on the phone, the reservationist asked for some data like my passport number, date of birth, etc., and after a brief pause, she had my electronic visa. She did NOT give me any kind of confirmation number or visa number. She just told me it was good for one year from date of issuance (i.e., good until mid-April 2005). Also, no charge for the service was mentioned. (Of course, maybe United includes it in their ticket prices. But since this was an award ticket, all I paid were the taxes, which were reasonable.) I entered Australia with absolutely no problems or questions about visas. So, my experience is similar to what other UA and AA passengers have stated here.

You didn't mention how you booked your tickets to Australia. Did you do it online or by phone? Maybe the process works differently when you buy tix online. There must be something different that would explain why you didn't get your electronic visas at purchase time. If you booked by phone, maybe the reservationist just made an error and forgot to do the visas. Or maybe for Qantas tix the procedure is different. I suppose it's possible that some airlines include the visa in the ticket price and others don't. You could call and ask the airlines these same questions.

Edit: It sounds like you booked by phone. It also sounds as though Qantas works differently than AA or UA. As I said, perhaps the "free" visa is buried in the latters' ticket prices.

I went to Australia last September on QF and they processed the ETA for me for free. I was ticketed on AA stock but all my dealings with regard to the ETA were with QF.

I purchased the ticket from AA by phone.

Qantas has informed me that they began charging $25 for the visa Sept 1, 2003. The person who traveled in Sept and didn't have to pay this fee sounds like they were lucky. I have to think that this fee is buried in your ticket price, otherwise its a scam to have such a website.

To the other person who said that ETAs were valid for 3 months, they are valid for 1 year from date of issuance.

Could that be either a new requirement or only applicable to people carrying passports from certain countries?

My travel agent has always gotten this visa for me, there has never been a charge and if one had been applied, I am sure she would have passed it on.
So I guess had I posted, I would have added to the "misinformation" but it certainly wasn't my experience as of the last time I did this, which was last October.

It costs the travel agents and airlines nothing to input the visa in the system - but I think now most charge for it. If you get one directly from the Australian government, you will also be charged for it.

Tourist ETAs are most certainly valid for 1-year for Americans. I believe business-related ETAs are valid for a far shorter period (say like the 3-months you mention).

As Qantas wants to charge you $25 US for this apparently, I was wondering if it's not cheaper to go to the appropriate official website directly and get charged the fee in Australian dollars instead?

Yes it is, 20AU vs 25US