Canberra's universities have dropped down the international rankings for a second year in a row.
The Australian National University has dropped five places to 67th position in the 2024 Times Higher Education world university rankings.
The University of Canberra was ranked between 251 and 300 in 2023 but is now ranked between 351 and 400.
A spokesperson from the ANU said the drop could be explained by changes in ranking methodologies.
"Sometimes this advantages certain types of institutions in particular nations, sometimes it does not. What is clear is that by any measure ANU is among the best universities in the world," the spokesperson said.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said the pandemic had affected the results but said she didn't expect this to have a lasting impact as the international education sector continues to recover.
"COVID-19's impact on the flow of international students to our shores is evident in the data, but we don't expect this to have a lasting impact as our international education sector continues to recover.
"International education is a major economic driver and contributes significantly to our social cohesion, so it's important we work back to the position of strength we held prior to the pandemic," Ms Jackson said.
Times Higher Education's chief knowledge officer Phil Baty said the rankings were a warning sign for Australian Universities.
"First of all, while Australia is one of the world's leading university sectors for attracting international talent and collaboration, the relative isolation of the country during the pandemic is showing up in the data, to detrimental effect on universities' ranking positions.
"Real attention is needed to ensure Australia continues to be open to international talent, which includes the right policy incentives as competition for international talent heats up with possible shifts in the market.
"In addition, while the rankings show Australia has historically very high levels of research quality, current figures show a relative under-investment in research, which sends a clear red-light warning."
Melbourne hosts Australia's top two universities on the rankings scale, with the University of Melbourne ranked 37th in the world and Monash University ranked 54th.
