The Australian National University (ANU), in Canberra, was established by an Act of Federal Parliament on 1 August 1946 and marked its 80th anniversary in August 2026. The ANU Council first met in July 1951, succeeding an Interim Council appointed in 1946.
Teaching and research are organised in six academic colleges: Arts & Social Sciences; Asia & the Pacific; Business & Economics; Law, Governance & Policy; Science & Medicine; and Systems & Society. Each houses schools and research centres, such as the Crawford School of Public Policy and the John Curtin School of Medical Research. ANU reports 10,252 undergraduate and 7,128 postgraduate students. Professor Rebekah Brown, the Provost and Senior Vice-President, became Interim Vice-Chancellor and President in September 2025.