Australian universities drop in rankings as institutions across Asia climb
Despite 70 per cent of our universities slipping in the latest global rankings, Australia is still considered the fifth-best higher education system in the world.
Australian universities have dropped in the world rankings as institutions across Asia climb and reputations fall among employers and academics relative to other countries.
Despite 70 per cent of Australian universities slipping in the QS World University Rankings, Australia is still the fifth-best higher education system in the world with nine of its 36 ranked institutions in the world top 100.
Only Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland beat Australia, each of which has 10 or fewer ranked universities.
The University of Melbourne remains Australia’s highest-ranked university in 19th place, down from 13th in 2025. It is followed by the University of NSW, in 20th place, down one, and the University of Sydney, which fell out of the top 20 to 25th position.
The yet-to-open Adelaide University – a merger between University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia – debuted in 82nd place.
While 25 of Australia’s 36 ranked universities fell, other APAC countries Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam recorded significant gains, with an accompanying analysis by QS noting that “momentum is shifting”.
Mainland China and India also recorded strong upward trends in the rankings.
The QS analysis is both well-regarded and comprehensive, evaluating universities on measures such as research, student employability and outcomes.
According to a breakdown of the QS rankings, 28 of the 36 Australian institutions fell in “employer reputation” scores, which is the reputation universities and their programs hold among employers in terms of student resilience, communication, emotional intelligence and flexibility.
More than 70 per cent of Australian universities saw a decline in their “faculty student ratio”, which is a measure of the number of academic staff to students.
Six Australian universities were in the top 50 for their reputation among academic experts, while Australia’s overall score was lower than other top-ranked countries.
RMIT director of strategic insights Angel Calderon, who is a member of the QS Global Rankings Advisory Board, said “the inconvenient truth is that reputation is an issue which continues to adversely impact Australian universities’ performance in global rankings”.
“The relative decline in standing for both the academic and employer reputation measures has been in the making for several years,” he said.
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“Here lies a key opportunity for the collective of Australian universities to ensure learners are better supported, better equipped to succeed, and have the agency and recognition they deserve.
“The results are also a wake-up call to Australia. We are experiencing an acceleration in the pace of change in higher education globally. Universities from emerging, middle-income economies and Asian countries are now global standouts.
“Our universities must adapt by providing quality education to the communities they serve if they want to remain competitive, relevant and boost national productivity.”
QS chief executive Jessica Turner said: “Australian institutions are in a really competitive place. It’s not that Australian institutions have fallen, it’s that higher education institutions around the region are really looking to be on the global stage (and) Australian institutions have not increased their performance at the same rate.
“Some of the education systems where institutions have moved up across Asia … they’ve had long-term, deliberate national strategies around research excellence and the excellence of their higher education system, and have really put the money behind those top universities to be able to track that top talent.”
“Australia has to want that position of excellence more than everybody else does.”
Group of Eight CEO Vicki Thomson said the result for Australia and particularly Go8 universities was “impressive”.
“This comes against a backdrop of global uncertainty and mixed messaging from our largest research partner, the United States, which threatens our very capacity to deliver on our mission of education and research. And yet despite these headwinds, Australia continues to punch above its weight,” she said.
“The world is a more complex and volatile place than ever and we cannot afford to be complacent. World university rankings do fluctuate over time and this goes to the sensitivity of overseas markets, which are impacted by domestic policy and the messages we send to the international community.
“Our hard-fought global reputation, which has been achieved by our top 100 research intensive universities, is in part tied to our national positioning.
“We need to be mindful of the impact domestic political debates, whether they be migration targets or housing, have on the international education and research sectors.”
Higher education expert Andrew Norton said while international students do use these rankings to help them decide which university to attend, and universities do need to worry about them, “I think for students, they’re not a great guide to the quality of the experience you will get (at an institution)”.
He said the fall in Australian rankings was likely tied to the “universities in Asia pushing their way up the rankings”.
Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy said: “Our universities remain among the best in the world, despite the continuing impacts of global uncertainties and unfavourable domestic policy settings on our reputation.
“What’s important now … is for the government to provide Australia’s universities with the certainty and stability they need to maintain their cutting-edge status.”
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