edurank

Best Universities in Australia 2026

A consensus ranking of 39 universities in Australia, aggregating QS, THE, ARWU (Shanghai) and U.S. News into one transparent table. Part of our <a href="/rankings/country/">global rankings by country</a> coverage (Oceania).

Data verified: June 2026 · Latest published edition of each ranking
How these rankings work: each university's position in QS, THE, ARWU and U.S. News is converted to a percentile, averaged with equal weight, and re-ordered by that average. Only universities appearing in at least one major ranking are shown. Full details on the methodology page.
#University QS 2026THE 2026ARWU 2025U.S. News 2026 Consensus score
1 University of Melbourne · Melbourne 19 37 38 30 98
2 University of Sydney · Sydney 25 40 72 29 97
3 Monash University · Melbourne 36 51 76 38 96.5
4 The University of Queensland · Brisbane 42 · 65 43 96.4
5 The University of New South Wales · Sydney 20 · 80 37 96.4
6 The Australian National University · Canberra 32 · 101-150 86 93.9
7 The University of Western Australia · Perth 77 153 101-150 98 92.8
8 Adelaide University · Adelaide 82 133 151-200 99 91.7
9 University of Technology Sydney · Sydney 96 · 201-300 83 88.7
10 University of Newcastle 227 275 · 244 87.6
11 Macquarie University 138 · 201-300 178 86.4
12 Deakin University 207 225 201-300 173 86.2
13 Curtin University 183 275 201-300 152 86.1
14 Swinburne University of Technology 294 275 201-300 146 84.8
15 RMIT University 125 275 301-400 198 83.8
16 University of Wollongong 184 225 301-400 212 83.5
17 Queensland University of Technology 226 225 301-400 182 83.3
18 Griffith University 268 275 301-400 238 81.5
19 La Trobe University 233 275 301-400 278 81.4
20 University of Tasmania 314 275 301-400 281 80.4
21 Western Sydney University 400 325 301-400 265 78.9
22 Flinders University 387 325 401-500 434 74.4
23 James Cook University 440 375 401-500 416 73.3
24 University of Southern Queensland 410 375 601-700 278 70.4
25 University of Canberra 494 450 · 847 70.2
26 Charles Darwin University 584 450 · 797 69.5
27 Murdoch University 423 450 501-600 510 69
28 Central Queensland University · 450 · 827 68.1
29 University of South Australia · · 401-500 424 66.9
30 Victoria University 741-750 550 · 785 65.3
31 Southern Cross University 638 450 · 1151 62.7
32 Australian Catholic University 851-900 450 601-700 354 62.7
33 Edith Cowan University 487 375 801-900 457 62.3
34 Bond University 591 450 · 1296 61
35 Charles Sturt University 951-1000 700 · 864 57.7
36 University of the Sunshine Coast · 550 801-900 1048 45
37 The University of Notre Dame Australia 1201-1400 900 · 1592 36.8

About Australia higher education

Australia has a compact but globally competitive higher education system, anchored by the Group of Eight (Go8) research universities. Australian universities are popular with international students for their high quality of life, post-study work rights, and strong research performance in medicine, engineering, and environmental sciences.

Data sources

QS World University Rankings 2026QS Quacquarelli Symonds · Jun 2025 · official release
THE World University Rankings 2026Times Higher Education · Oct 2025 · official release
ARWU 2025ShanghaiRanking Consultancy · Aug 2025 · official release
U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026U.S. News & World Report · official release
Cite this page:
EduRank (2026). Best Universities in Australia 2026. Retrieved June 2026, from https://edurank.co/rankings/country/au/
Independence statement: EduRank accepts no payment, sponsorship or commission from any university or ranking publisher.