Asus would have plenty to loose. Imagine what all of those people with two boards are going to do when they figure out they only need one of them...eBay. They wouldn't just be giving YOU a free board, they would also be taking away sales from themselves. You don't seriously expect them to...
I don't know about Australia, but here in Japan, Asus sells through an importer so it looks like the exchanges will happen at the retail level. Japan is a small country though, so almost every retailer is "local"; shipping doesn't take more than a day.
And for all of you guys complaining...
Wow, some people really have entitlement issues. Bad things happen; forgive and forget.
Personally, I think the Asus policy is reasonable. The only issue I have is with their suggestion that people wanting refunds (like me) should go to their retailers NOW. Now?...with no replacement...