Two of Australia’s richest universities reaped sector-record income in a year of policy upheavals that threatened the sector’s financial health, institutional accounts reveal.
The universities of Melbourne and Monash earned A$3.7 billion (£1.8 billion) and A$3.8 billion respectively last year, both exceeding the A$3.5 billion revenue record set by the University of Sydney during a year of investment windfalls in 2021.
Australian universities campaigned against a spate of international education rule changes in 2024, including visa fee hikes, erratic visa processing and the last-minute withdrawal of proposed foreign enrolment caps.
Melbourne and Monash also incurred sector-record expenses of almost A$3.5 billion each, thanks to inflationary influences on their salary bills and sundry costs. Nevertheless, their robust surpluses – A$217 million at Melbourne and A$308 million
at Monash – sit uneasily in a sector characterised by bitter pay disputes and underpayment scandals.
