FAQs

There are many ways our University continues to support communities across our regions:

We taught more than 39,000 students, our student satisfaction continued to improve, and women now represent almost 40% of senior academic positions, up from 33.5% five years ago.

7761 students graduated in 2025 across undergraduate, postgraduate and higher degree research programs.

In the University’s 60^th anniversary year, we completed our new Gosford Central building where students will be able to study without needing to leave the region and where industry will benefit from greater ties with our researchers and students.

We also worked to provide more accommodation for our students, with construction commencing on the City Campus student accommodation, which will provide an additional 445 student beds in the heart of the Newcastle CBD.

Every year, we publish independently audited Financial Statements in our Annual Report, detailing our overall financial position and performance. These Financial Statements comply with Australian Accounting Standards and are audited by the NSW Audit Office.

• The University receives income from a range of sources, including student fees, government funding, research grants and philanthropic donations, investment returns, commercial activities, and controlled entities such as NUsport and NUservices.
• While all of this contributes to the University’s overall financial position, not all of it can be spent freely. Some of that funding is committed to specific purposes.

For example, if the University receives a medical research grant, that funding must be used for that research project. Likewise, if someone donates money for scholarships, those funds cannot be used for operational costs such as utilities or maintenance.

• Other accounting adjustments, such as unrealised investment gains are not cash earnings received by the University. They can rise and fall significantly from year to year due to market movements, and cannot be relied upon to support general operations.
• The Core Operating Resultexcludes these funds (and their associated expenses) which are not available to support general operations. It therefore provides a more complete understanding of the University’s financial health and long-term sustainability

• The consolidated operating surplus of $112.5M was achieved largely through contributions from:
  • Restricted research grants and philanthropic funding ($55.3M),
  • Non-philanthropic investment returns ($45.4M)
  • Revenue from controlled entities ($8.3M)
• As explained above, these items cannot be used to cover the University’s operating expenses. Research grants and philanthropic contributions are tied to specific projects and purposes, investment returns can fluctuate significantly year to year and are not a stable source of recurrent funding.

• In 2025, the Core Operating Result (also known as the Adjusted Operating Result) was a surplus of $15.4 million. The largest exclusions in 2025 were research and philanthropic grants, totalling $55.3 million, and close to $31 million in unrealised investment gains.
• The return to a core operating surplus in 2025 was also supported by strong growth in international and domestic student numbers and operational efficiencies delivered through the Business Improvement Program.

• Balancing our income and our expenses is an important factor in our financial sustainability. In 2025, our total University income in 2025 was $979.5 million, an increase of $89.5 million on 2024.
• Operating expenditure totalled $875.2 million, an increase of 5%, with the costs of depreciation, maintenance and professional services, increasing substantially.