Australia’s top universities have seen an overall decline in global rankings, with some institutions experiencing their lowest-ever positions.
The latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings revealed that 17 Australian universities fell in the rankings this year, while only four improved their standings.
Despite retaining its title as the top-ranked university in Australia for the 15th consecutive year, the University of Melbourne dropped to 39th globally—its lowest ranking in the history of the list.
Other leading institutions, including Monash University, University of Sydney, and Australian National University, also reported drops in their positions. The University of Queensland completed the top five Australian institutions, slipping from 70th to 77th place.
In 2021, Australia boasted 12 universities in the global top 100; now, only 10 remain.
According to Times Higher Education chief global affairs officer Phil Baty, the data reflects serious concerns for Australia’s higher education sector.
“Australian universities are losing ground in terms of their global academic reputation and funding levels,” he said. “Perhaps most alarmingly, they are losing ground in areas of great traditional strength: international research collaboration and the attraction of international talent.”
These downward trends are not isolated to one ranking system. Similar results were echoed in August’s Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), where 17 Australian universities dropped in their standings for the second consecutive year.
The University of Melbourne, for instance, dropped from 32nd place in 2022 to 37th in 2024. Likewise, the University of Sydney fell from 60th to 74th over the same period.
New Zealand’s performance followed a similar downward trajectory, with the University of Auckland slipping out of the top 150 and the University of Otago hitting its lowest ranking.
Globally, as per Times data, the University of Oxford is the world’s top-ranked university. The United States’ the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), ranked second, up from third.
As per ARWU data, U.S. universities continue to dominate, with Harvard University retaining its top spot. Eight of the top 10 positions are held by American institutions, while two belong to the UK.
Funding Cuts, Student Drop Drive Decline
The decline of Australian universities in global rankings is attributed to multiple factors, including the loss of international student revenue during the pandemic and long lockdowns.Inflation, flat domestic demand, and the Australian government’s plan to cap international enrolments at its 42 universities further exacerbate the situation, with the Group of Eight (Go8) institutions and some second-tier universities most affected.
Additionally, universities have seen significant drops in their reputation for both teaching and research. The decline is partly due to changes in how Times Higher Education (THE) calculates reputation scores, as Australia’s research data was incorporated only recently.
This change has impacted universities’ scores, with the top 10 institutions experiencing declines in both teaching and research environments.
“While Australia continues to boast many of the world’s very best universities, the data from this year’s World University Rankings provide serious warning signs,” Baty said.
Amidst this, in August, the government announced to cap the new international student intake at 270,000 for the calendar year 2025.
Education Minister Jason Clare stated that, subject to the passage of legislation before Parliament, it would set a National Planning Level (NPL) for new international student commencements of 270,000 for the 2025 calendar year.
Luke Sheehy, CEO of Universities Australia, made a plea against the slowdown in visa processing for universities and international students, announced by the Home Affairs minister in December. He highlighted that nearly 60,000 fewer student visas for higher education in Australia have been issued over the past 12 months.
Sheehy pointed out that each international student supports about four jobs in higher education, predicting approximately 14,000 potential job losses.
He said universities, as not-for-profit institutions, are working hard to serve Australians while continuing to employ staff and deliver high-quality research and education.
Not just universities, even state governments have resisted the proposed caps.
Victoria’s Minister for Economic Growth Tim Pallas urged the Commonwealth to reconsider, warning that the reforms could harm the economy and jobs.
He highlighted that Victoria holds 30 percent of the national international student market, generating $14.8 billion (US$10 billion) in export revenue and supporting around 63,000 local jobs in 2023.
Pallas emphasised that international education is vital to Victoria’s economy, calling it the state’s largest export.
Meanwhile, the deputy secretary of the federal Treasury said their calculations indicated that the cap will have no significant impacts on the economy.
Sam Reinhardt, the deputy secretary of the Fiscal Group at Treasury, told a recent Senate inquiry that they are not expecting any job losses as a result of the bill.
“So, we would not see a substantive impact as a result of those changes.”
