The University of Notre Dame Australia
An Australian Catholic university with campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome. Best known for medicine, nursing, education and law.
19 Mouat Street, Fremantle WA 6160
- Catholic intellectual tradition
What student life looks like
Notre Dame Australia runs three campuses. Fremantle is the founding site, woven into the historic Fremantle West End in restored 19th-century warehouses, with the Tannock Hall of Education, Drill Hall and the Library housed in heritage buildings. Sydney sits at Darlinghurst and Broadway, with the School of Medicine, Sydney based in the Darlinghurst clinical precinct. Broome is a small campus in the Kimberley region focused on Indigenous health, education and nursing for the remote north-west. Notre Dame is a smaller institution, with total enrolment around 12,000 across all campuses, so first-year tutorials are tight and the cohort is closely tracked. Most students live off-campus in inner Fremantle, Sydney's inner east or Broome itself; there is no on-campus residential village, though the university operates a limited Sydney student residence at Broadway. Notre Dame Student Life runs around 30 clubs across the campuses. The brand is small-cohort teaching with a Catholic intellectual ethos, a Core curriculum (philosophy, theology, ethics) shared across all undergraduate degrees, and strong professional pathways into medicine, nursing, law and teaching.
Known for
- School of Medicine Sydney with strong clinical placement network
- School of Medicine Fremantle and the Fiona Stanley clinical hub
- School of Nursing and Midwifery
- School of Law with national reputation for ethics-led teaching
- School of Education
- Mandatory Core curriculum in philosophy, theology and ethics
- Smaller cohort sizes than public universities
Research strengths
- Institute for Health Research
- Nulungu Research Institute (Broome) for Aboriginal research
- Centre for Faith, Ethics and Society
- Centre for Catholic Education
- Centre for Workplace Wellness Research
- Christian Heritage Research Centre
- National School of Arts and Sciences research
Cost of living (student estimate)
$22,000 - $34,000 per year
Costs vary sharply by campus, with Sydney highest, Fremantle mid-range and Broome lower but with limited rental supply. Includes shared rental, groceries, transport and utilities. Excludes tuition.
Source: https://www.studyaustralia.gov.au/en/plan-your-studies/living-costs. Last reviewed 2026-05-21.
Student support
- Nulungu Indigenous Centre at Broome
- Indigenous Student Support across all campuses
- Disability Services
- Counselling Service
- Student Centre at each campus
- Academic Enabling and Support
- Financial Assistance and emergency funds
- Campus Ministry and Chaplaincy
Is this the right uni for you?
You probably thrive here if
- You want a small private uni with Catholic intellectual ethos
- You are aiming at medicine, nursing, law or teaching
- You value mandatory ethics and philosophy in your degree
- You want a heritage-restored Fremantle precinct or Sydney inner east
- You prefer small cohorts to large public university intakes
It is probably not for you if
- You need Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) tuition for most courses
- You want a sandstone Go8 prestige brand
- You want a sprawling parkland residential campus
- You want a strict research-only programme
The year at a glance
Semester 1 runs late February to early June with a mid-semester break in mid-April and exams in early to mid-June. Semester 2 runs late July to early November with a mid-semester break in late September and exams in early to mid-November. Results release follows in early July and mid-December. Notre Dame also runs a Summer School in November to February for selected units. Orientation week sits in the week before each main semester.
Faculties and courses
16 undergraduate courses across 9 faculties.
Architecture, Design and Planning
Arts and Humanities
Business and Economics
Engineering and Information Technology
Health and Medicine
Sources
TEQSA registered Australian University. Catholic university.