Editing Education in Australia (section)

== Tertiary education ==
{{Main|Tertiary education in Australia}}
{{Further|List of universities in Australia}}
[[File:Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Australia by SLA - BCP field 2865 University or other Tertiary Institution Total Persons.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|People attending a tertiary institution as a percentage of the local population at the 2011 census, geographically subdivided by statistical local area]]

Tertiary education (or higher education) in Australia is primarily study at [[university]] or at a [[registered training organisation]] provider (known as [[technical and further education]], TAFE) leading to a [[Australian_Qualifications_Framework#Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education sectors|degree, diploma, certificate or other qualification]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/Main/CoursesAndProviders/ProvidersAndCourses/HigherEducationInAustralia/Default.htm|title=Higher education in Australia|work=[[Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations]]|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=13 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228182641/http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/Main/CoursesAndProviders/ProvidersAndCourses/HigherEducationInAustralia/Default.htm|archive-date=28 December 2010}}</ref><ref name="TAFE">{{cite web|url=https://www.cdu.edu.au/launchpad/future-study/difference-between-higher-education-vet|title=The difference between higher education and VET|website=cdu.edu.au|access-date=24 April 2025}}</ref> A higher education provider is a body that is established or recognised by or under the law of the Australian Government, a state, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory.<ref name="deewroverview">{{citation|url=http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Pages/Overview.aspx|title=Overview|work=[[Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations]]|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=13 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906093838/http://www.deewr.gov.au/highereducation/pages/overview.aspx|archive-date=6 September 2010}}</ref> VET providers, both public and private are registered by state and territory governments.

<!-- 42 universities in total actually because they listed Federation University Australia twice.-->
In 2021, 1,185,450 students were attending university or other higher education.<ref name="abs2021edu"/> There are 42 universities in Australia: 37 [[public universities]], 3 [[private universities]] and 2 international private universities,<ref>{{citation|title=Universities and Higher Education|work=Study In Australia|url=http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/global/australian-education/universities-and-higher-education|publisher=Australian Government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317154018/http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/global/australian-education/universities-and-higher-education|archive-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> {{as of|2015}}, the largest university in Australia was [[Monash University]] in Melbourne: with five campuses and 75,000 students.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monash revisits its inclusive roots|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/monash-returns-to-its-inclusive-roots-20150315-13xaau.html|newspaper=[[The Age]]|date=7 March 2015|last=Maslen|first=Geoff}}</ref> The [[Group of Eight (Australian universities)|Group of Eight]] (Go8) is a coalition of eight prestigious Australian universities established in 1999 which comprise more than two-thirds of the country's university research.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.anu.edu.au/group-of-eight|title=Grou of Eight|website=[[Australian National University]]|access-date=2 February 2025}}</ref>

There are non-self-accrediting higher education providers accredited by state and territory authorities, numbering more than 132 as listed on state and territory registers. These include several that are registered in more than one state and territory.

All students doing nationally recognised training need to have a [[Unique Student Identifier]] (USI).<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.usi.gov.au/about|title=About|first=Chris|last=Cook|date=12 October 2015|website=usi.gov.au|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228101214/https://www.usi.gov.au/about|archive-date=28 February 2018}}</ref>

=== International tertiary students ===
Australia has the highest ratio of international students per head of population in the world by a large margin, with 812,000 international students enrolled in the nation's universities and vocational institutions in 2019.<ref name="macrobusiness.com.au">{{cite web|url=https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2019/11/australian-universities-double-down-on-international-students/|title=Australian universities double down on international students – MacroBusiness|date=31 October 2019}}</ref> Accordingly, in 2019, international students represented on average 26.7% of the student bodies of Australian universities. International education, therefore, represents one of the country's largest exports and has a pronounced influence on the country's demographics, with a significant proportion of international students remaining in Australia after graduation on various skill and employment visas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-27/temporary-graduate-visa-485-boom/10035390|title=Record number of international students sticking around on visas with full work rights| website= [[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]| date= 27 July 2018}}</ref> The Australian onshore international education sector is predicted to rise to 940,000 by 2025. The biggest source markets for onshore international learner enrolments in 2025 were expected to be China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia, Brazil and South Korea. According to a 2016 report by [[Deloitte|Deloitte Access Economics]] for the [[Austrade|Australian Trade and Investment Commission]], higher education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) were projected to be the fastest-growing sectors in onshore international education by 2025.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.austrade.gov.au/Australian/Education/Services/australian-international-education-2025/growth-and-opportunity|title=Growth and opportunity in Australian international education|author=[[Deloitte|Deloitte Access Economics Pty Ltd]]|date=2016|work=[[Austrade|Australian Trade and Investment Commission]]|location=Australia|access-date=3 September 2019|archive-date=12 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412212616/https://www.austrade.gov.au/Australian/Education/Services/Australian-International-Education-2025/growth-and-opportunity|url-status=dead}}</ref> Australian Government is also planning to add another 1.46 billion AUD according to [https://cdrforaustralia.com/strategy-to-attract-fresher-engineer/ Modern Manufacturing Strategy], which predicts a high jump in job growth and [[Australian migration zone|migration]] of people.

=== Rankings ===
The [[Education Index]], published with the [[United Nations|UN]]'s [[Human Development Index]] in 2018, based on data from 2017, listed Australia as 0.929, the second-highest in the world.<ref name=":0" /> Australian school students placed 16th in the world in reading, 29th in maths, and 17th in science in the 2018 [[Program for International Student Assessment|PISA]] study by the [[OECD|OCED]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-12-03|title=Australian students slip in global maths, reading and science rankings|language=en-AU|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-03/australia-education-results-maths-reading-science-getting-worse/11760880|access-date=2023-11-24}}</ref> The [[Australian Education Union]] accredits decreases in government funding for declining student outcomes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=OECD data shows impact of school funding cuts {{!}} Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch|url=https://www.aeuvic.asn.au/oecd-data-shows-impact-school-funding-cuts|access-date=2025-02-18|website=aeuvic.asn.au}}</ref>

Thirty-six Australian tertiary educational institutions were listed in the [[QS World University Rankings]] for 2021;<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021|title=QS World University Rankings 2021|date=11 September 2015|work=Quacquarelli Symonds|access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> and 37 institutions were listed in the [[Times Higher Education World University Rankings]] in the same year.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2021/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats|title=THE World University Rankings 2021|date=30 September 2015|work=Times Higher Education|access-date=28 February 2018}}</ref> As of 2020, 34 Australian universities were listed in China's [[Academic Ranking of World Universities]] ranking, with [[The University of Melbourne]] achieving the highest global ranking, at 35th.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2020.html|title=Academic Ranking of World Universities 2020: Australia|work=shanghairanking.com|date=15 August 2019|access-date=3 September 2019|publisher=ShanghaiRanking|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816224432/http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2020.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the same year, according to the ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]'' Best Global Universities Rankings, 38 Australian universities were ranked, ranging from the University of Melbourne, at 25th place, to [[Bond University]], at 1133th place.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings|title=Best Universities in the World|date=2019|access-date=3 September 2019|work=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref>