The University of Sydney, read against the whole sector.
New South Wales · Go8, UA. Every measure below sits beside the national sector median for the same year, drawn from the CoreBridge Intelligence: Australian Universities dataset.
Figures carry the year they were reported for.
This page is a fixed extract. The live profile carries every published year, benchmarks against the sector, mission group and state, and a report you can print for a board paper.
Open the live Sydney profileSources and methodHow the student base has moved.
| Measure | Latest | Earlier (year shown) | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student load (EFTSL) | 61,035 (2024) | 2018: 51,425 | 23,622 (median of 38) |
| Enrolments (headcount) | 78,825 (2024) | 2018: 66,839 | 34,808 (median of 37) |
| International share of student load | 51.3% (2024) | 2018: 40.4% | 30.7% (median of 38) |
| First-year retention rate | 92.9% (2023) | 2017: 90.0% | 77.9% (median of 38) |
| Six-year completion rate | 67.2% (2024) | 2018: 76.9% | 62.4% (median of 38) |
Sector median: the median of the Table A universities that report the measure in the year shown, with the count beside it. Adelaide University is one entity (the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia combined before 2026) and Batchelor Institute is not in the benchmark. The count can differ from the dashboard's current benchmark by build date. The earlier figure is the first year of the series shown, not last year.
How the workforce is structured.
| Measure | Latest | Earlier (year shown) | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic staff in teaching functions (FTE) | 2,674 (2024) | 2018: 2,993 | 1,028 (median of 38) |
| Professional staff (FTE) | 5,630 (2025) | 2019: 4,173 | 1,566 (median of 38) |
| Onshore student load per teaching-function academic FTE | 22.8 (2024) | 2018: 17.1 | 22.5 (median of 38) |
Academic staff in teaching functions: the Department of Education's count for its student-staff ratio. It covers staff in academic units with a teaching or teaching-and-research function, casuals included. It leaves out research-only staff. Counting every staff member on an academic classification, the total was 4,411 FTE in 2024 (all staff less professional staff; a CoreBridge calculation from the Department's figures).
Professional staff: full-time and fractional full-time staff on non-academic classifications, from the Department of Education's full-time-equivalence tables. Casuals are left out of this row. They are counted in the academic row and in the total academic figure above, so the rows are not meant to be added together.
Student-staff ratio: onshore student load (EFTSL) divided by academic staff FTE in teaching functions, the Department of Education's own measure (Higher Education Staff Statistics). It uses onshore load, so the total student load above divided by the academic figure above does not reproduce it.
How the money flows.
| Measure | Latest | Earlier (year shown) | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (parent entity) | $3.89b (2024) | 2018: $2.50b | $842.5m (median of 38) |
| Net result (parent entity) | $545.3m (2024) | 2018: $169.6m | $13.9m (median of 38) |
| International fee income | $1.60b (2024) | 2018: $884.7m | $187.6m (median of 38) |
Finance figures are the parent entity, the basis the Department of Education collects. A university's consolidated group accounts, which include its controlled entities, can differ.
What research brings in.
| Measure | Latest | Earlier (year shown) | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research income (HERDC) | $607.3m (2024) | 2018: $386.7m | $102.5m (median of 38) |
| Competitive grant funding | $293.8m (2025) | 2019: $145.1m | $25.9m (median of 37) |
Who the university reaches.
| Low-SES students, share of commencing | 7.9% (2024) |
|---|---|
| First Nations students, share of commencing | 2.0% (2024) |
| Regional and remote students, share of commencing | 7.4% (2024) |
More universities in New South Wales
Figures verified against public sourcesData build: 24 September 2026 · Product release: 24 September 2026