Total Disappointment and Frustration

My elderly mother and uncle are flying to Perth Australia on 20 December. We only booked in late October following the death of my father in late September. We app**** for my uncle's Visa on 7 November- 6 weeks before they need to fly. As of today, we still have not received the Visa. The biggest frustration is that the embassy only takes calls between 8:30 and 11:30 and you hold on and can never speak to anyone. I tried for 3 hours today with no success. All we want to know is when the visa will be ready so we can try and arrange the flight accordingly and change if we have to. I have emailed, placed a message on their Facebook page and on Twitter but have had no response. I am totally frustrated and do not think it is too much to ask for a timeline to manage our expectations. I personally will never visit Australia if this is how they treat potential visitors.