My timetable has been 3 days for all of last year, and by the looks of things, next semester too. In my opinion, it's great. Also, it saves you travel costs, if you have them.
Lecture etiquette changes depending on how big your lectures are. If they're very big it's not unusual to see people sleep and go on facebook during lectures. If they're small (like, under 20 people or so), it's embarrassing to draw that kind of attention to yourself. Either way, if you eat, make sure it isn't chips or something that smells or whatever, because that could distract your peers and even the lecturer. Try not to be more than a couple of minutes late if you can help it. Even though most lecturers let you be late, most of them seem to find it distracting to have people arrive whilst in the middle of explaining an important point or something. Obviously though, sometimes lateness is just unavoidable.
I'm not sure for Vic Uni, but in most universities, if you've studied a language before they have you do a test and then advise which level you belong. Contact the university about sitting the test, if they have it. You'll also have to ask them about your other units.
In arts, you can complete honours after your third year, provided that your grades are good enough. It adds on another year and during the year you write a thesis which is of a fairly big length (usually 10,000 words depending on the university and the discipline). Also, I think you can do a dip. ed. at Vic Uni, but there are many other places you can complete it.