University Resourcing: Australia in an International Context

In June 2002, the Commission was asked to undertake international comparisons of the resourcing of higher education institutions and the management of those resources. The objective of the study was to collect information for Australia and other countries on university income by source, their assets and liabilities, the management of resources, constraints on their use and accountability mechanisms for good financial management. The Commission found that expenditure on tertiary education as a proportion of GDP was higher in Australia in 1999 than in the United Kingdom and some other European countries — but was lower than in Canada, the United States and Sweden.