Land area
7,690,000 km²
Sixth largest country in the world, and the only one that is also a continent. Perth to Sydney is further than London to Moscow.
Why study in Australia
The sixth largest country on earth, and one of the least densely populated. The twelfth largest economy in the world, with fewer than 30 million people. Home to 9 of the 100 best universities in the world, and the third most popular destination for international students.
6 + 2States & territories
42Public and private universities
9Universities in the world top 100
3rdMost popular study destination
A continent, a country and an island, with 3 different time zones.
A continent of 7.69 million km², where most people live near the coast.
People
28.6 million
Under 4 people per square kilometre, and 86 per cent of them live within 50 kilometres of the coast.
Coastline
36,000 km
Continuous culture
65,000 years
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold the oldest continuous living culture on earth.
Beaches
10,685
Mapped by Geoscience Australia. Visiting one a day would take 29 years.
World Heritage sites
21
Including the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru-Kata Tjuta, the Sydney Opera House and 18 others.
Every one of them has a capital, and every capital has a university.
Choose a city on the map to learn more
New South Wales
Sydney
The biggest city and the biggest graduate job market, wrapped around a harbour and 30-odd beaches.
- Universities in NSW
- 14
Australia produces 4 per cent of global research output, from 0.3 per cent of the world population.
Wi‑Fi was an accidental discovery, thanks to Australian astronomers chasing black holes.
CSIRO · Radiophysics
Wi‑Fi
Radio astronomers chasing signals from space wrote the maths for untangling a signal bouncing around a room. Their patent became the fast wireless LAN standard.
In billions of devices
Australia has 42 universities, and 9 of them are in the global top 100.
Of these, 36 are public and 6 are private.
QS rankingUniversityState
- 19UNSW SydneyNSW
- 22University of MelbourneVIC
- 28University of SydneyNSW
- 29Australian National UniversityACT
- 31Monash UniversityVIC
- 40University of QueenslandQLD
- 77University of Western AustraliaWA
- 79Adelaide UniversitySA
- 87University of Technology SydneyNSW
QS World University Rankings 2027
The law
ESOS Act. Every provider that teaches an international student must be registered on CRICOS. Universities are regulated by TEQSA and vocational colleges by ASQA, and both check courses against national standards.
The money
Tuition Protection Service. International students are protected by law. If a university or college stops teaching a course or fails to start it, the student is placed in another course, or the tuition fees they have not used are refunded. The scheme is backed by the Australian Government and designed to protect international students.
The qualification
Australian Qualifications Framework. One national framework, and qualifications recognised globally.
The record
Australia counts 16 Nobel laureates, among them the man who made penicillin usable, and the team that found the universe is accelerating.
Many degrees are built around the jobyou want afterwards.
Many Australian degrees build work into the course itself: placements, internships, industry projects and group work with real clients. You can graduate with experience and contacts as well as a qualification.
Work experience
Placements and internships are part of many courses, and some require them before you can graduate.
Support on campus
Every university has staff whose job is supporting international students, from orientation through to graduation, alongside careers, health and counselling services.
If something goes wrong
If you can’t resolve a complaint with your university or college, an independent ombudsman will look at it, free of charge.
At work
If you work part-time while you study, you have the same workplace rights as any Australian worker, including the minimum wage. The Fair Work Ombudsman enforces them.
Across Australia, 1 in 3 people were born outside the country.
After English, Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese and Cantonese are among the most common languages spoken at home. People living in Australia were born in more than 190 countries, so wherever you come from, you can find your community. For Muslim students, halal food is easy to find, most campuses have prayer rooms, and every capital city has mosques.
Ocean pools · NSW
Brighton Beach · Melbourne
Split Point · VIC
Coast walks · everywhere
Rundle Mall · AdelaideWork rights48 hrs
Per fortnight during session, and unrestricted work rights during the breaks. Australia has one of the highest minimum wages in the world.
Health coverOSHC
Health insurance is mandatory, so you are covered from the day you land to the day your visa ends.
SafetyTop 20
On the Global Peace Index (20th in 2026), with low violent crime and strict firearms law.
The twelfth largest economy, and international education is its largest services export.
Australian companies that went global
Jira and Confluence, founded in Sydney, used by most of the Fortune 500.
Started in Perth, headquartered in Sydney, past 200 million users worldwide.
Based in Melbourne, among the largest plasma and vaccine companies in the world.
Born out of University of Melbourne research, now selling into 180 countries.
The largest infrastructure asset manager in the world, in more than 30 markets.
Melbourne skincare, sold to L’Oréal in 2023 for around US$2.5 billion.
Sources: QS World University Rankings 2027 · UNESCO World Heritage List · Global Peace Index 2026 · Department of Home Affairs
Australia is the right answerfor some students, not all of them.
The first conversation is 30 minutes and costs nothing, and if Australia isn’t right for you, I’ll tell you.