Tertiary education in Australia is formal education beyond high school in Australia, consisting of both government and private institutions and divided into two sectors; Higher Education (provided by universities and other Higher Education Providers (HEPs)) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) provided by government-owned TAFEs & private Registered Training Organisations (RTO). The Commonwealth Government's Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) classifies tertiary qualifications into 10 levels: level 1 to 4 vocational certificates (I - IV); level 5 diploma; level 6 associate degree and advanced diploma; level 7 bachelor degree; level 8 bachelor with honours degree & graduate certificates and graduate diplomas; level 9 for master's degree; and level 10 for doctorates.. . www.aqf.edu.au, accessed 29 September 2025.

Most universities are government owned and mostly self-regulated. For other institutes (VETs, i.e. TAFE & RTO) there are two national regulators for tertiary education for registration, recognition and quality assurance of both the "provider institutes" as well as the "individual courses" provided by the providers. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) regulates institutes which provide education from level 5 or above. Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) regulates institutes which provide education from level 1 to level 6.Australian qualifications framework explanation , www.teqsa.gov.au, accessed 4 aug 2023.

For admission into Australian institutes, Australian & New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents, are considered "domestic students" regardless of whether their prior education was in Australia or overseas. All others are considered "international students". Domestic students need to apply only once to the TACs (State-based unified Tertiary Admission Centre) of the relevant state for admission to all the universities within that state, which grant admission based on the ATAR-based "Selection Rank" (SR). Those students with International Baccalaureate (IB), both domestic and international students, must apply to the "Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres" (ACTAC) which calculates an Australia-wide ATAR-like national rank called "Combined Rank" (CR).Improving IB entry to Australian tertiary courses , IB combined rank. Domestic students usually pay far less in subsidised-fees compared to international students. Additionally, domestic students are entitled to Australia's publicly funded universal health care insurance scheme Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and various social security welfare payments & benefits, e.g. Austudy Payment, Youth Allowance, etc., to meet living expenses. International students are not entitled to these benefits. All international students apply individually to each university, and most international students are self-financed non-subsidised full-fee paying students.

There are 43 universities registered in Australia (including 37 public universities, four private universities, and one international private university). Many Australian universities have formed several network groupings, such as the Group of Eight (8 leading universities which receive two thirds of the government research grant funding awarded to all universities), the Australian Technology Network (ATN), Innovative Research Universities (IRU), the Regional Universities Network (RUN), and more.

Australia is well known for high quality education, most of the universities are government owned, and they rank very highly on the global rankings. Australia is ranked 4th (with Germany) in the OECD by international PhD students destination after the US, UK and France. Australia has a comparatively high proportion of international students as a percentage of students enrolled, at 26.5% in 2018. Australia has the fifth-highest number of foreign students worldwide.

56% of the 462,033 international students enrolled in Australia are from five nations; China (23%), India (16%), Nepal (10%), Colombia (4%) and Thailand (3%) with an enrolment ratio of 50% in Higher Education (229,833), 35% VET (162,193), 11% ELICOS (English language course) (50,246), 2% Schools (19,704) and 2% Non-Award (8,057).YTD January 2023 international student data available, Mar 2023 , Austrade, 30 Mar 2023. In 2022, 69% of Australians aged 20–64 had a tertiary qualification, and 24% had multiple qualifications. Among all ethnic groups in Australia, Indian Australians are the most educated group in Australia with 54.6% having a bachelor's or higher degree — more than three times Australia's national average of 17.2%.

Important definitions & information

Types of Students:

Domestic Student (DS): Must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent resident status, or on a long-term Australian humanitarian refugee visa."Domestic Student" (DS) , ANU, accessed on 2 August 2023. Australian citizens and permanent residents living overseas (out of Australia) who completed their pre-university education overseas are still considered domestic students for the purpose of tertiary education in Australia e.g. for gaining admission in CSP and for obtaining social security benefits. Domestic students are of following two types: CSP Domestic Students Full-fee paying Domestic Students

International Student (IS): All others are considered International Students, including those living in Australia on other types of visa. International students pay full tuition fees, though there are certain scholarships for them which are highly competitive to obtain.

For both Domestic and International students:

Combined Rank (CR) for International Baccalaureate (IB) students: both domestic and international students with IB, must apply to the "Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres" (ACTAC) which calculates an Australia-wide ATAR-like national rank called "Combined Rank" (CR) which combines results from across all states, thus enabling IB students to "apply in any Australian state or territory with confidence about how their results compare to their peers who have completed state curricula and received an ATAR". Also "when completing your final year of schooling, ensure that you provide permission via your school for your IB results to be released to Australian tertiary admissions centres. As long as you identify yourself as an IB student and provide your IB candidate number when applying for courses, your IB scores and subject results will be received electronically and automatically converted for the purposes of selection and meeting prerequisites."

Selection Rank (SR): a rank assigned by the university for granting admission. Domestic students must apply to the Tertiary Admission Centre (TAC) of the relevant state which will calculate the ATAR and their selection rank is determined by the university based on the ATAR and some other additional criteria assigned by the university. International students must apply directly to the university, which will calculate their SR based on their high school qualifications.

USI (Unique Student Identifier): An individual student's identification number for life for tertiary education across all institutes. Without one, a student cannot receive their final qualification testimonial (degree certificate), online access, or Commonwealth government financial assistance such as CSP, etc.USI (Unique Student Identifier) , usi.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

EFTSL (Equivalent Full Time Student Load): A year of full-time study calculated based on number of units (subjects) undertaken by the student.EFTSL, education.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

Fee for "CSP Domestic Students: "Commonwealth Supported Place" (CSP) subsidised students.

SLE (Student Learning Entitlement): During their lifetime a student can avail at least 7 years of EFTSL full-time subsidised study in Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) across degrees, with additional SLE gained for postgraduate courses, and 3 EFTSL gained after 10 years.SLE (Student Learning Entitlement) , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

LCR (Low Completion Rate): Fail rate of more than 50 per cent of the units of study a student has attempted. LCR results in termination of CSP subsidised fee. To continue to receive the CSP subsidy, students must pass at least 50% of all units (subjects) attempted.LCR (Low Completion Rate) , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

CSP (Commonwealth Supported Place) students: A study fee where the cost is partially subsidised by the government. Most domestic students are CSP students. Those domestic students who fail to secure a CSP must pay the full fee.CSP(Commonwealth Supported Place) students , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

SCA (Student Contribution Amounts): CSP student's share of the fee, can be covered with the HECS-HELP and/or OS-HELP.SCA (Student Contribution Amounts) , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

HECS-HELP loan: to pay for SCA portion of CSP students. Does not cover the cost of accommodation, food living, and laptop etc.HECS-HELP loan , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

OS-HELP loan: For CSP students undertaking part of their course overseas, students cannot get OS-HELP if qualification will be awarded by an overseas university or higher education provider.OS-HELP loan , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

SA-HELP loan: For covering the SSAF (Student Services and Amenities Fee) for all domestic students including CSP and full-fee paying students. The maximum SSAF institutes can charge a student was $326 in 2023.SA-HELP , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023.

Fee for "Full-fee paying Domestic Students" only.

FEE-HELP loan: For full fee paying domestic students. While HECS-HELP is a loan for subsidised CSP students, FEE-HELP is a loan for domestic full fee paying students to cover their tuition fees.FEE-HELP , studyassist.gov.au, accessed on 2 August 2023. SA-HELP loan: For covering the SSAF (Student Services and Amenities Fee) for all domestic students including CSP and full-fee paying students, the maximum SSAF institutes can charge a student was $326 in 2023. Living expenses assistance for domestic students - Social Security welfare payments & benefits: Only domestic students, both CSP & full-fee paying students, are entitled, e.g. Austudy Payment, Youth Allowance, etc. Domestic students are entitled to a 30–35% discount on train and bus public transport fares in all states,Transport in Australia for students , idp.com, accessed 4 aug 2023. free medical insurance through Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), etc. International students are not eligible for social security benefits or Medicare. Scholarship: A large range of scholarships are available for both domestic and international students.Study portal scholarships in Australia list , scholarshipportal.com, accessed 2 aug 2023.

History

Early 20th century