Australian universities' drop in global rankings is Donald Trump's fault, according to The Guardian
The 2026 QS World University Rankings released on Thursday revealed 25 out of Australia's 36 universities had experienced a substantial fall and equated to the third biggest drop in the world.
In The Guardian's article covering the drop, "attacks from Donald Trump" were one of the leading reasons for the slip in standards.
"Dozens of Australia's top universities have dropped in a global ranking amid a 'turbulent year' for higher education, as attacks from Donald Trump's second administration exacerbated years of disruption for the embattled sector", The Guardian claimed in the article's opening sentence.
The rankings reflected growing competition in the region with institutions across Asia climbing up the charts, including in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The University of Melbourne, the country's top higher education institution fell six spots to 19th in the world, with the University of NSW falling to 20th down one and the University of Sydney plummeting from 20th to 25th position.
In its coverage of the slump, The Guardian listed 'attacks from Donald Trump's second administration', referring to the US President's crackdown on funding to Australian universities as a prime reason for the poor result.
Despite the article detailing a range of local policy issues that have contributed towards Australia's poor performance in the global ranking, The Guardian chose to attack the US President in the opening line of its article.
"At least seven Australian universities have had research programs temporarily suspended by the Trump administration this year, while a dozen universities were sent a questionnaire asking to confirm whether they aligned with US government interests," The Guardian wrote.
"The chief executive of the Go8, Vicki Thomson, said the results came against a backdrop of global uncertainty and 'mixed messaging' from Australia's largest research partner, the US."
Although the US government provides Australian universities with a considerable amount of funding, the federal government's caps on international students and declining government funding of the higher education industry have substantially impacted the operational capabilities of the nation's top tertiary institutions.
The Albanese government in mid-2024 announced its plan to cap international student enrolments in 2025 at 270,000 students, with publicly funded universities allocated 145,000 new international student commencements.
The federal government also implemented stricter visa and financial requirements for international students, increasing visa fees from $710 to $1,600 dollars in July 2024 with graduate visa restrictions also imposed on international students over 35.
The Group of Eight – a coalition of Australia's top universities slammed the move and said at the time the decision had 'significantly damaged the global reputation of Australia's international education sector' and would result in up to $1 billion less revenue for their member universities in 2025.
Universities reliant on international enrolments were hit hard by the move, with Macquarie University implementing sweeping course cuts and staff layoffs in late May to bring about short-term savings due to the sudden drop in tuition fees.
Macquarie University's proposed cuts will impact 42 FTE (full-time equivalent) roles in arts and 33 in science and engineering, eliminating popular majors like music, politics and archaeology saving $15 million amid declining enrolment rates.
QS chief executive Jessica Turner said international education was worth an estimated $51 billion in Australia in 2023-24, and that Australia faced mounting competition from multiple Asia-Pacific countries.
'Emerging markets such as Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, and the UAE are making impressive strides and steadily closing the gap with more established study destinations,' Ms Turner said speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Director of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs Dr Bella d'Abrera said that campus safety, governance, a rise in antisemitism and free speech concerns were also directly impacting the performance rankings of Australian universities.
"It's hardly surprising that Australian universities are slipping down the league tables, they are no longer places of higher learning but have become ideological training camps where free speech is dead, dissent is punished, and students are forced to toe the activist line or risk academic penalties,' Dr d'Abrera said.
"Free speech in Australian universities is not just under threat—it's extinct. And until we stop rewarding mediocrity and punishing independent thought, our universities will continue to slide into irrelevance.'
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