A healthy surplus going into 2020 and limited exposure to the international student sector saved Victoria University from the financial ravages that many of the state’s other universities have been exposed to, according to its new chancellor, Steve Bracks.

“The university has undergone transformation in recent years and we had a significant surplus going into COVID. That, and that our international students made up only 20 per cent of enrolments, means that we had a buffer,” said Mr Bracks, who was installed as the university’s sixth chancellor last week.