In 2006, 302,880 domestic and overseas students (including offshore students) were enrolled in New South Wales higher education institutions. The field of management and commerce, which includes accounting, management, marketing and banking and finance, attracted the strongest level of demand, with more than 86,000 students enrolled.

In terms of completions, more than 74,982 students graduated from New South Wales higher education institutions in 2005, 41% of which achieved postgraduate degrees.

Australia's higher education facilities are world class, as demonstrated by the THES-QS World University Rankings 2007.

According to the report, Australia is home to 6 of the world’s top 50 universities, ranking it third behind the United States and the United Kingdom. Two New South Wales institutions, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, are placed in the world's top 50. The rankings are based on weighted scores for peer and recruiter review, the number of students and staff recruited from overseas, staff-to-student ratios and the number of citations of academic papers.