As of 2023, Monash University was the number one ranked university in terms of number of students enrolled, with approximately ** thousand enrolled full-time equivalent students. That same year, the second ranked university in the nation in terms of student enrollments was University of Melbourne with close to ** thousand enrolled full-time equivalent students.

The University and Other Higher Education industry is grappling with the post-pandemic landscape. The COVID-19 outbreak significantly shifted the industry's demand and delivery methods. Social distancing requirements and operational constraints caused most universities to pivot online. Remote learning has remained embedded into teaching post-pandemic, providing convenience for students and profitability benefits for universities. A heightened focus on research during the pandemic offset revenue lost from declines in tuition fees. This trend has been slowing and is under additional threat from a US Government that appears intent on reducing its funding for foreign-based research, to the detriment of Australian institutions. The industry's labour market has been volatile as the pandemic pushed universities to increasingly casualise their workforces. Controversies over underpayment have led to reputational damage and strikes among major Australian universities. Melbourne University's enforceable agreement with the Fair Work Ombudsman to pay more than $72.0 million to over 25,000 staff highlights the magnitude of these disputes. Economic and demographic factors have aided the industry's post-pandemic recovery despite these pressures. A depreciating Australian dollar has benefited returning international students, while growth in the population of people aged 18 to 25 has bolstered domestic enrolments. Lower secondary school retention rates, slipping during the pandemic, are dampening this growth. Overall, revenue is expected to drop at an annualised 1.9% to an estimated $38.8 billion over the five years through 2024-25. This trend includes a 0.6% drop in revenue anticipated for 2024-25. The outlook for the industry is promising, driven by changing labour market conditions and demographic trends. Stricter visa requirements to control migration will pose challenges. However, the industry will face these constrictions by constructing new student accommodation facilities, allowing institutions to enrol international students beyond their designated cap. The consolidation of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia into Adelaide University in 2026 will intensify competition for enrolments, particularly from international students, given its ambitious ranking goals. These factors mean revenue is forecast to climb at an annualised 2.1% to $43.1 billion through the end of 2029-30.

In 2020, the top earning university in Australia was Monash University in Melbourne, with a total revenue of 2.7 billion Australian dollars in that year. The University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne are also in the top three universities in terms of revenue.

Sandstone universities and the Go8

Like the American “Ivy League”, Australia’s most prestigious universities are often described collectively as “Sandstone Universities”, which is a reference to some of the earliest buildings in Australia being built of sandstone. Another grouping of universities, which takes into account some of the newer additions to Australia’s top universities, is known as the Group of Eight (Go8). The Go8 tend to be Australia’s more research-intensive universities and includes the Australian National University in Canberra and Monash university in Melbourne.

Income and funding

Universities rely on a variety of diverse income sources for their operating revenue. However, more than 50 percent of university income comes from a combination of funding from the Australian government and international student fees. Domestic student contributions through the subsidized HECS-HELP scheme made up less than 20 percent of total university revenue, despite the cost of an average three-year undergraduate degree costing over 25,000 Australian dollars for domestic students.

The Education and Training division has faced challenges in recent years. The private school segment has expanded because of increased demand for enrolment, which allows schools to raise their tuition fees. This trend contrasts with the challenges of government schools, which have struggled with teacher shortages and enrolments growing much slower than private schools despite consistent funding. Private schools can provide competitive wages to attract teachers, which helps them offer lower teacher-to-student ratios. Meanwhile, universities are struggling with reduced domestic enrolment numbers and the slow recovery of international student numbers following the pandemic. While many institutions within the division are not-for-profit, there are private establishments that do strive to make a profit, particularly within the Technical and Vocational Education and Training industry, which boasts the highest profit margins. Industrywide revenue has been contracting at an annualised 0.5% over the past five years to total $175.6 billion in 2024-25, when revenue is expected to dip by an estimated 1.2%. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland dominate the Education and Training division because of their large populations, which lead to an abundance of schools and students. Certain segments, like government schools and universities, exhibit higher market share concentration because of the significant barriers to entry compared to segments like sports instruction. The division contends with intensifying competition from substitutes like self-education and on-the-job training. Over the coming years, new government policies and technological advancements will influence the Education and Training division. The Australian Government's introduction of international student caps and raises in the price of student visas will significantly limit the international student market, potentially resulting in job losses and stifling growth opportunities. Universities are losing their competitive edge as substitutes like self-education expand in popularity and employer preferences shift away from traditional degrees. Education departments will focus on improving teacher performance and wellbeing to elevate national education standards. The Quality Schools package will boost Commonwealth funding for schools, prioritising public schools over private ones. Overall revenue is forecast to climb at an annualised 1.7% through 2029-30 to total $190.7 billion.

There were more than *** thousand Chinese student enrollments in Australia as of June 2022, with approximately ***** thousand enrolled in the higher education sector alone. This high figure is largely in part to many institutions readily accepting international students, as well as the use of English as the main language in most educational courses. The limited amount of university spots in China due to its large population also forces Chinese students to look overseas for education opportunities. Demographic of international students in Australia   Australia has the largest proportion of international students in higher education, with almost ******* of all higher education students in the country being international students. Furthermore, Chinese students make up the biggest share of these international students, with almost twice as many students as second-placed India. Education as a source of income   While the cost of education is regulated for local students, universities in Australia can set their own prices for internationals. This creates a market where institutions are permitted to set prices to match the high demand for education. The export income from international education activity in Australia reached tens of billions of dollars over the past decade. Despite the high cost of entry, there is still plenty of demand with some universities such as the University of New South Wales having more than ** percent of students coming from overseas.

The University of Melbourne Herbarium (MELU) is the largest university herbarium in Australia comprising an estimated 150,000 specimens including approximately 200 type specimens. The collection includes approximately 85,000 vascular plants, 40,000 algae, 20,000 mosses/liverworts/hornworts, 3,500 lichens, and 3,000 fungi.

Comprehensive collections include the G.A.M. Scott (Bryophyte) Collection, Breidahl Moss Collection, Harry J. Swart (Fungi) Collection, G. Beaton (Fungi) Collection, Walter Zimmer Collection, Bogong High Plains Collection, Mt Buffalo Collection, Rupp Collection, Ex-Burnley Horticultural College Collection, and Ex-Victorian School of Forestry Herbarium. Some international specimens in the collection, include material from Macquarie Island (algae) and UK and New Zealand (bryophytes).

In 2019, Australian universities had a total revenue of 17.78 billion Australian dollars from Australian Government funding alone. International student fees were the next largest source of revenue for universities, with international students bringing in almost 10 billion Australian dollars in the same year.

With a share of around 64.8 percent, professional occupations accounted for the largest proportion of full-time jobs taken up by recent graduates from Australian universities in 2018. Clerical and administrative workers followed behind, with 9.9 percent of graduates employed full-time stating this was their occupation.

The education income raised from Chinese students studying in Australia has increased steadily over the past six years and was valued at around 12 billion Australian dollars in financial year 2019. China remains the largest contributor to Australia's international education export industry despite the restrictions on global travel due to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020.

Chinese education export crucial to the Australian economy

Education is one of Australia’s most valuable exports and in 2019 the income generated from international students alone was worth 37.6 billion Australian dollars. Many of Australia’s leading universities rely heavily on income from international students, with the percentage of international students at some universities being over 40 percent. Chinese students represented the largest proportion of overseas students, generating almost a third of Australia’s total international education income. By comparison, Indian students, the next most valuable international student group to the Australian economy brought in less than half the education export income of their Chinese counterparts in 2019.

Uncertainty in 2020

The education sector was one of the first Australian industries to feel the effects of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China in late 2019. From early February, 2020, shortly before the Australian school and university year was to begin, the Australian government placed a travel ban on travelers from China. This travel ban meant that many Chinese students were unable to be in the country to start their studies at schools, universities, and vocational colleges in Australia. Furthermore, internet censorship policies in China made it difficult for universities to stream lectures and offer online courses for students in China.

In 2022, Canada had the greatest number of international students compared to their entire higher education population, with nearly ** percent of students being international. Australia followed with a share of ** percent of the students being international, while the United Kingdom ranked third.

The number of Chinese students going abroad for study reached ******* in 2024, roughly the same figure as in 2019. The number of students going overseas had fallen to only 451,000 in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic and it took four years to recover to the previous level again. Motivations for overseas study In China, some of the best universities are public universities which get most of their support from the government. Although the number of institutions for higher education and students enrolled in universities inside China have increased significantly in the last few years, the pathways to gaining admission to good universities are still limited. For most people, the national exam “Gaokao” remains the only way to enter a good public university. Therefore, there are students studying abroad to avoid the national exam and to gain admission to a better ranked university. For some study programs, overseas institutions are better equipped and can provide more international academic environment. These qualities attract a lot of Chinese scholars. People who have studied abroad are considered to have a global insight and better language skills, which makes them more competitive in China’s recruitment market. Financing for overseas study Developed countries and regions are still the most popular destinations for Chinese students studying abroad. In some countries, Chinese students have already become an important funding source for their local universities. English-speaking countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia are the leading destinations among them. The United States have since long attracted the largest share of Chinese students, but in recent years more and more Chinese students preferred to study in the United Kingdom instead. However, since students studying abroad are not all from extremely wealthy families, non-English speaking countries where the universities charge less in tuition fees are becoming increasingly popular. While most students from China were self-funded, relying on their parents' support, the number of students who were state scholarship recipients had been increasing over the years.