‘Not good enough': Uni slide ‘disappointing'
However, the prestigious tertiary institutes still leave Australia ranked as the fifth-best nation for higher study.
Released on Thursday, the QS World University Rankings show only Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland have more top-100 universities than Australia on a relative basis.
The top-ranked University of Melbourne fell from 13th to 19th spot, while the University of NSW, The University of Sydney and ANU also slipped.
Australia has 36 universities in the total list of 1501 THAT QS ranked this year. Nine Australian unis made the top-100, a fifth place result.
federal opposition education spokesman Jonno Duniam, called a slip in the rankings a 'disappointment'.
'The government must take note of our constant slide down the rankings and implement policy and funding solutions to get our universities to where they need to be,' he said.
'It is simply not good enough.'
University Rankings
Analysis of the rankings show 70 per cent of Australian universities have reduced their academic staff-to-student ratio.
'We want education policies that meet the 21st century skills that our economy demands, not just funding injections from which Australian taxpayers cannot see a reasonable return on their investments – not to mention our university students who deserve better,' Mr Duniam said.
The University of NSW fell from 19th to 20th spot in this year's rankings. The University of Sydney came down from 18th to 25th, and ANU slipped from 30th spot to 32nd.
Monash rose one spot to 36th, and the University of Queensland fell two spots to 42nd. UWA held steady at 77th. The unopened Adelaide University debuted in the 82nd spot.
The University of Technology Sydney fell from 88th to 96th. Of Australia's top 15 universities, 13 fell down this year's rankings. Dina Rudick /The Boston Globe / Getty Images Credit: Supplied
The Group of Eight is a combined body representing Australia's top eight universities; chief executive Vicki Thomson said Australia punched above its weight.
'At a time when global collaboration underpinned by quality has never been more important, the ranking result for Australia and in particular the Go8 is impressive,' she said.
'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, ranking fifth overall as the best higher education system in the world.'
The strong showing was testimony to the quality of our universities and academic and research staff, Ms Thomson said.
'That we have two Go8 members ranked in the top 20 and six in the world's top 50 is an outstanding result and must not be taken for granted but rather leveraged in these contested times,' she said.
'Singularly impressive is the debut of the new Adelaide University at 82. This result confirms that Adelaide University will create quality at the scale needed to deliver far-reaching benefits for Australia's research and higher education.'
Adelaide University, set to open in 2026, is an amalgamation of the University of South Australia and The University of Adelaide.
Globally, MIT, Imperial College London, Stanford University, Oxford and Harvard make the top five in that order.
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