I thought $20 was pretty reasonable--we had to pay $60 just to drive through Zimbabwe recently. I think we paid $75 for a Brazilian Visa and had to send our passports by registered mail to their embassy to get the Visa Stamp. Getting the Australia visa was a breeze. Don't know why they require it, but my guess is it's just another form of taxation--but this way they can tax the visitors rather than the local voters. I'm amazed the US doesn't require Visas for Australian visitors--we'll have to look into that!!!! ;)