Research excellence & impact

University research is evaluated to ensure Australia’s research effort continues to be of high-quality and securing results for the community.

This assessment is done principally through the Excellent in Research for Australia (ERA) evaluation by the Australian Research Council. The ERA compares Australia’s university research effort against international benchmarks to help identify discipline strengths.

The 2018 ERA national report provides information on the quality of research undertaken by Australian universities. Overall, 90 per cent of Australian university research assessed were performing at, or above, world standard in 2018.

For the first time in 2018, the council also assessed how well researchers are engaging with end-users of research through the Engagement and Impact Assessment (EI).

The EI report found that overall 85 per cent of the 626 Units of Assessment (UoAs) for engagement and 88 per cent of the 637 UoAs for impact were rated at medium or high in 2018.

More information on both programs can be found on the Australian Research Council’s website.