Australian education system

If you would like to take a closer look at the most prestigious universities in Australia, check out our page on the Group of Eight; those eight schools are the most-well known and have the best education that you can find in the country. But just because those schools are considered the “best” doesn’t mean that the other universities you will find are of lesser quality. Whatever university in the Australian higher education system that you decide to go to, you will find a world class education that you can’t find anywhere else.

 If you want more information on any of the universities listed above, feel free to check out their individual websites or take a look at the Australian Education Network’s list of universities in Australia. If you are interested in attending an Australian university, take a look at the Australian government’s study abroad website, known as Future Unlimited. These websites will give you the resources you need in order to obtain information that you may need. Good luck on your college search! 

The Australian education system is determined by a unique program known as the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). This system is primarily based on the United Kingdom system of education, but is a lot more detailed. Tertiary education is separated into a variety of levels, based on the amount of education that a student needs for their careers.

There are ten different levels in the tertiary education system in Australia. We cover the first 7 levels (and part of the 8th level) in our article about undergraduate education. The first seven levels include vocational, technical, associates, and bachelor’s level degrees. The 8th level contains both undergraduate aspects and graduate aspects, and levels 9 and 10 are postgraduate education programs only.

Here is a quick overview of each of the AQF levels. We do this so that you can better understand them before pursuing your postgraduate tertiary education in Australia.