Soaring revenue from the government and students left most of Victoria’s universities in robust financial shape last year, newly published financial accounts suggest.
The state’s eight public universities pocketed a combined A$14.5 billion (£7.7 billion) in 2025, some 7 per cent or A$969 million more than in 2024.
Income from overseas students rose at all but one of the eight, lifting their combined international earnings by 14 per cent or A$585 million to A$4.9 billion. The eight universities also shared a 7 per cent boost in their federal funding, which grew by almost A$400 million to A$5.9 billion, including an extra A$184 million –10 per cent more – in allocations through the Higher Education Loan Programme.
These increases easily offset a 7 per cent increase in the universities’ salary bills and a 5 per cent hike in their sundry expenses, which pushed their overall costs up by A$738 million or 6 per cent.
The good fortune was not universal, with two institutions – Federation and La Trobe universities – finishing the year in deficit. The University of Melbourne’s A$217 million 2024 surplus shrank to A$38 million last year, and Swinburne University’s surplus fell by more than half to A$29 million.
