Australia's No.1 university spot changes hands after one decade

After almost 10 years of alternating at the top, the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Melbourne have been officially overtaken.

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is now Australia's highest-ranked university according to the latest QS rankings.

In the 2027 QS World University Rankings, released last week by British analytics firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), UNSW placed 19th globally, moving up one spot from last year.

UNSW is now the country's only representative in the global top 20. This marks Australia's strongest individual university performance in more than two decades of QS rankings.

An event at the University of New South Wales in February 2026. Photo from the university's Facebook page

QS awarded UNSW exceptionally high scores across several key metrics. Research and discovery, graduate employability, internationalization, and sustainability each received approximately 94 out of 100 points or higher.

This outstanding performance highlights significant long-term growth, as UNSW has climbed a total of 30 places in the QS rankings over the past ten years.

The University of Melbourne and the Australian National University (ANU) consistently traded the title of Australia's leading institution across major international rankings in previous years.

ANU held the top national spot in the QS rankings from 2017 to 2023. The University of Melbourne has topped the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings since 2018, leading both the QS and THE rankings in 2024.

This year the University of Melbourne has dropped three places globally from 19th to 22nd, its third consecutive year of decline, having fallen a total of 10 places since reaching 12th in the world in 2024.

Australia's top universities in QS World University Rankings 2027

Australia rank

University

World Rank

Tuition fees (USD/year)

1

University of New South Wales

19

33,300-44,700

2

University of Melbourne

22

26,800-57,000

3

University of Sydney

28

34,600-46,400

4

Australian National University

29

20,200

5

Monash University

31

31,300-41,800

6

University of Queensland

40

38,500-40,600

7

University of Western Australia

77

33,100-36,900

8

University of Adelaide

79

33,600-39,200

9

University of Technology Sydney

87

35,700-42,000

10

RMIT University

119

31,600-34,300

Australia's prestigious Group of Eight (Go8) research universities continue to dominate the top national positions. Nine of the country's top 10 universities are currently ranked among the world's top 100.

Annual tuition fees for international students attending these top 10 Australian universities generally range from US$20,200 to US$57,000.

This year proved to be highly successful for the nation's broader education sector. A record-breaking 37 of Australia's 43 recognized higher education institutions were included in the QS rankings.

Nearly 60% of these featured Australian universities improved their global positions, with nine institutions achieving their best-ever results.

This year, QS evaluated over 1,500 institutions, welcoming 90 new entrants from 40 different countries and territories. The assessment relies on 10 distinct criteria to determine global standing.