Private universities in Australia
Australia's university system is overwhelmingly public, so private universities and private higher-education providers are a small group with distinct characters. They tend to be smaller, more teaching-focused, and more expensive per year, since they receive no government funding and charge international and domestic students the same fee.
The trade-off is often smaller classes, a tighter industry focus, more frequent intakes, and in Bond's case a compressed calendar that finishes a bachelor degree in two years. None offer Commonwealth Supported Places, so scholarship support matters more here.
- Australian Institute of BusinessTuition from A$24,000/yrAdelaide, SA. AIB is built for working professionals doing an MBA or postgraduate business qualification part-time and online
- Australian Institute of MusicTuition from A$27,000/yrSydney, NSW. AIM is for students committed to a career in music who want a specialist conservatoire environment rather than a music department inside a large university
- Avondale UniversityTuition from A$24,000/yrCooranbong, NSW. Avondale is a small, faith-affiliated university with real strength in nursing and teaching
- Bond UniversityTuition from A$48,000/yrGold Coast, QLD. Bond suits students who want to finish faster and are willing to pay for it
- Greenwich CollegeTuition from A$18,000/yrSydney, NSW. Greenwich College is for students who need to build English proficiency or academic preparation before starting a university degree
- Holmes InstituteTuition from A$25,000/yrMulti-campus (Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast). Holmes Institute is a private provider focused on business, accounting, and IT degrees for international students, with campuses in Melbourne, Sydney, and the Gold Coast
- International College of Management, SydneyTuition from A$28,000/yrManly, NSW. ICMS is for students set on hospitality, event management, sports management, or international business who want small classes and compulsory industry internships
- Kaplan Business SchoolTuition from A$26,000/yrMulti-campus (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane). Kaplan Business School is a private provider offering business and accounting degrees across four capital cities, with some programs built on pathway credit from Kaplan's diploma a
- Melbourne Institute of TechnologyTuition from A$25,000/yrMelbourne, VIC. MIT Melbourne is a private provider concentrating on IT, networking, engineering, and business degrees, with campuses in central Melbourne and Sydney
- Torrens University AustraliaTuition from A$30,000/yrMulti-campus, national. Torrens is a private university with a catalog weighted toward business, design, hospitality management, and health, delivered across campuses in several cities
- University of DivinityTuition from A$20,000/yrMelbourne, VIC. University of Divinity is a specialist theological institution operating through a consortium of affiliated colleges
- University of Notre Dame AustraliaTuition from A$33,000/yrFremantle, WA / Sydney, NSW. Notre Dame Australia is a Catholic university with a required core curriculum of philosophy and ethics across every degree and a strong interview-based admissions culture
How this list was built
We listed every published provider marked as a private institution, sorted alphabetically. This includes both full private universities (Bond, Torrens, Notre Dame, Divinity) and private higher-education providers that grant degrees.
Other decision guides
- Most affordable universities
- Regional universities
- Multiple intakes
- Automatic scholarships
- Higher acceptance rates
- Group of Eight
- No application fee
- Accept IELTS 6.0
- Cheapest in Sydney
- Cheapest in Melbourne
- Cheapest in Perth
- Cheapest in Brisbane
- Cheapest in Adelaide
- Cheapest in Canberra
- Best for computer science
- Best for information technology
- Best for data science
- Best for business and management
- Best for nursing and health sciences
- Best for engineering