commsec is definitely live, even for options, if you have an actual account. maybe they were referring to some sort of trial or guest mode or something when they mentioned the 20 minute delay.
i've had to resort to using my dormant, unfunded commsec account to check the prices before placing trades thru IB, as due to cost costbacks at work i no longer have access to the live bloomie + reuters market terminals i had before, and i'm too cheapskate to pay the (professional) market data fees on IB when i can still get live prices for free on commsec.
i can see my order appear on commsec immediately after i transmit it to IB (there is very little depth in options compared to stocks so i know it is definitely my order). if my dormant, unfunded commsec account that i haven't traded thru for 4 or 5 years since switching to IB is still showing live prices, then surely anyone who's commsec account is actually active will have live prices too.
re the prior post on dividends (didn't see it originally as i only joined here in may) - yeah i agree, it's harder to find a list of upcoming dividends on the site now. i've switched to looking that info up from intelligentinvestor.com.au. don't need to be a member, the upcoming dividends section is freely accessible, as is the section conveniently next to it covering upcoming reporting dates which is also handy to have which helps trade around earnings events.