As staff go on strike on Friday, Honi decided to break down the University’s financial documents and counter University management’s spin. Our findings? The University is swimming in it.

The $1.04 billion surplus recorded at the University of Sydney was easily the largest recorded by a single institution. USyd was followed by the University of Melbourne, with a $584 million surplus, and the University of Queensland with a $332 million surplus.

UniMelb, USyd, Monash, UNSW and the University of Queensland combined hold a whopping $37.3 billion in assets, making Australia’s universities the wealthiest since national records began.

The $185 million surplus comes after two years of staff redundancies, which were justified as cost-saving measures in the context of COVID.

The University’s sizeable surplus contrasts starkly with their treatment of staff.