Student Equity Data Guide: Higher Education Institutions in Australia

How many higher education institutions are there in Australia?

Australia is home to a total of 43 higher education institutions, which are divided into 38 Table A institutions, 4 Table B institutions, and 1 Table C institution. The Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA)^[1] provides a list of higher education institutions and their classifications. This classification reflects differing levels of eligibility for funding and support from Commonwealth programs among these institutional types. For instance, only Table A institutions are eligible for Indigenous, Regional and Low SES Attainment Fund (IRLSAF) grants, while HECS-HELP is available for all award courses at Table A institutions but only for ‘national priority areas’ courses at Table B and Table C institutions^[2]. There are also 155 non-university higher education institutes (NUHEPs)^[3].

This guide focuses on Table A, B, and C higher education institutions, most of which are universities. Therefore, we will use ‘university’ within this guide for brevity.

How many students are enrolled at university in Australia?

In 2024, 746,369 domestic undergraduate students attended university in Australia, marking a 0.8% increase from 2023 (enrolment of 739,903)^[4]. Approximately 98% of these students were enrolled at Table A universities and 2% at Table B universities. No domestic undergraduates were enrolled at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (Table A) or at Carnegie Mellon University Australia (Table C). In 2024, about 53% of all domestic undergraduate students studied on campus, 19% studied externally, and the remaining 28% studied via a mixed mode.

What are the institutional groupings in Australia?

In Australia, institutional groupings are collaborations among Table A universities that share similar backgrounds, missions, and interests. These groupings promote common goals, resource sharing, and collaborative research and educational initiatives. The institutional groupings are: Group of Eight (Go8), Australian Technology Network (ATN), 2050 Alliance (formerly the Innovative Research Universities), and Regional Universities Network (RUN). Institutions not part of any grouping may be referred to as ‘non-aligned’.

All Table A, B, and C higher education institutions in Australia with their ‘home’ state or territory and their institutional grouping

[1] https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A01234/latest/downloads

[2] https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2021/GovernmentFundingHigherEducation

[3] https://polis.cass.anu.edu.au/files/docs/2025/6/Mapping_Australian_higher_education_2023_005.pdf

[4] https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-statistics/resources/perturbed-student-enrolments-pivot-table-2024