The University of South Australia (UniSA) was a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it was the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology (SAIT). In mid-2023, it agreed to merge with the neighbouring University of Adelaide to form Adelaide University. The merger began in 2024, with the merged university formally opening in January 2026. The existing institutions were formally disestablished after 31 March 2026, when the University of Adelaide Act 1971 and University of South Australia Act 1990 were repealed.

UniSA's earliest antecedent institutions were both founded in the Jubilee Exhibition Building of the former Royal South Australian Society of Arts. SAIT was founded in 1889 as the School of Mines and Industries, and the South Australian College of Advanced Education dates back to the School of Art in 1856. The institute gained university status following their merger in 1991. Its expansion over three decades, including to sites on the west end of North Terrace, along with broadening its fields of studies, contributed to its status as the state's largest university, with 34,878 students in 2023.

The university comprised six campuses, including the City East and City West campuses along North Terrace, a tech-oriented campus in Mawson Lakes, the Magill campus specialising in social sciences, and two regional campuses in Mount Gambier and Whyalla. Its academic activities were divided among the seven academic units. In 2023, the university had a revenue of . It was a member of the Australian Technology Network, an association of technology-focussed universities.

Notable alumni of the university include the incumbent foreign affairs minister Penny Wong; Human Rights Watch director Tirana Hassan; founding editor-in-chief of Vogue China Angelica Cheung; former state premier Steven Marshall; and retired politician Christopher Pyne. UniSA also managed several museums and exhibitions in a range of fields, including the Samstag Museum and Adelaide Planetarium, and formed part of the state's space and defence industry.

History The University of South Australia was formed in 1991 following by the merger between the South Australian Institute of Technology with three campuses belonging to the South Australian College of Advanced Education.

Antecedent institutions

School of Art

The South Australian School of Art, the earliest antecedent institution of the University of South Australia, was established in 1856 at the former Royal South Australian Society of Arts. The independent art school, which went through many name changes, and resided for much of its history at the Jubilee Exhibition Building. The Jubilee Exhibition Building remained on the University of Adelaide campus until 1962, when the building was demolished to make way for several university buildings. at which time the art college was temporarily relocated in Stanley Street, North Adelaide. In 1973, SASA merged with Western Teachers College to form Torrens College of Advanced Education. It is one of the oldest art schools in Australia, and the oldest public art school.

the South Australian School of Art is incorporated into UniSA Creative, which includes the disciplines of architecture and planning; art and design; journalism, communication, and media; film, television, and visual effects; and the creative industries. The SASA Gallery in the Kuarna Building, which showcases creative works by students and researchers, is the modern descendant of the school.

South Australian Institute of Technology

The Jubilee Exhibition Building was also the birthplace of the South Australian Institute of Technology which was established in 1889 as the SA School of Mines and Industries. It moved to the neighbouring Brookman Building in 1903, named after the Scottish-born businessman George Brookman who contributed £15,000 towards its construction. The building, which took three years to complete, was opened by then-state governor Samuel Way. It is located on the site formerly the eastern annexe of the Jubilee Exhibition Building on the corner of North Terrace and Frome Road between the University of Adelaide and the then-Royal Adelaide Hospital. When opened, only the main hall was named after George Brookman, and a plaque commemorating his contribution is still located in the hall. The Brookman Building in the nearby Grenfell Street, now the site of the Grenfell Centre, was his business headquarters.

The institute maintained strong ties with the neighbouring University of Adelaide that included the co-ordination of teaching, laboratories and examinations across fields of engineering and sciences. Despite the university later establishing its own faculty of engineering in 1937, the reciprocal relationship remained intertwined to its University Council and studies completed at the institute were recognised as equivalent studies eligible for credit towards university courses. The institute later expanded to the regional city of Whyalla in 1962 and to the Adelaide suburb of Mawson Lakes in 1972 as The Levels. In 1965, it was designated an advanced college which initiated an expansion in the variety of courses available. The campuses on North Terrace, Mawson Lakes and Whyalla all remain a part of the University of South Australia.

South Australian College of Advanced Education The Adelaide Teachers College, which changed names and shifted locations multiple times throughout its existence, was established in 1876. Despite not being located at the University of Adelaide campus until 1900, students from the institution attended university lectures since at least 1878. In 1921, it renamed to the Adelaide Teachers College, in line with other interstate teachers colleges. Despite offers from the university to take control of the college, which was heavily integrated into the university, the Education Department retained administrative authority throughout its early history. The Hartley Building was built as its permanent home in 1927.

The college eventually renamed to the Adelaide College of the Arts and Education. It also established additional teachers colleges in other parts of the city including Magill. Following a series of mergers, the colleges expanded to become advanced colleges which all later amalgamated with the original mother college to become the South Australian College of Advanced Education in 1982. The combined institution continued its presence alongside the University of Adelaide with which it maintained joint teaching, facilities and committees. The campus merged with the latter university in 1991 with three of the remaining campuses merging with the SAIT to establish the University of South Australia.

Others In 1973, the South Australian School of Art merged with Western Teachers College to form Torrens College of Advanced Education.

Merger and establishment

Stronger demand for advanced college places throughout the country resulted from a broadening appeal of higher education beyond the traditionally elite education provided by the universities. Advanced colleges were originally designed to complement universities, forming a binary system modelled on that of the United Kingdom. It was originally created by the Menzies government following World War II on the advice of a committee led by physicist Leslie H. Martin, during a period of high population growth and corresponding demand for secondary and tertiary education. This sector ceased to exist when, between 1989 and 1992, the Hawke-Keating government implemented the sweeping reforms of Education Minister John Dawkins that dismantled the binary system. The states, eager for increased education funding, merged the colleges either with existing universities or with each other to form new universities. Following its expansion and increasing autonomy from the University of Adelaide, the South Australian Institute of Technology was given the option to merge with either TAFE South Australia or the South Australian College of Advanced Education. It chose to merge with the latter advanced college resulting in the establishment of the University of South Australia, which continues to remain neighbours with the University of Adelaide.

The University of South Australia became the state's third public university, a continuation of the former South Australian Institute of Technology that merged with most of the SACAE, and maintained their historical presence next to the University of Adelaide, in the suburbs of Mawson Lakes and Magill and in the regional city of Whyalla. Its expansion over the next few decades, including to sites on the west end of North Terrace, and broadening fields of studies contributed to its status as the state's largest university by student population. It also became the second-largest university nationally by number of online students, either in the state or from other parts of the country, and expanded to Mount Gambier in 2005. In 2021, the university celebrated its 30th birthday.

Ongoing merger with the University of Adelaide

In June 2018, the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide began discussions regarding the possibility of a merger. The proposition was dubbed a "super uni" by then South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, and Simon Birmingham, but the merger was called off in October 2018 by the University of South Australia, which was less keen. Vice-chancellor David Lloyd, in an email to University of South Australia staff, claimed that the amalgamation lacked a compelling case. This statement was contradicted by the University of Adelaide's chancellor who said that the merger continues to be in the state's best interests and a spokesperson for the university added that it was still open to future talks. Following the release of several internal FOI documents retrieved by ABC News, it was later revealed that the merger talks failed due to disagreements on the post-merger institution's leadership structure. The name Adelaide University of South Australia was agreed upon by both universities and Chris Schacht, who previously served on the University of Adelaide Council, alleged that the merger talks failed due to disagreement on which vice-chancellor would replace the other following their amalgamation.

In early 2022, the topic of a merger was raised again by the new state government led by premier Peter Malinauskas, which proposed setting up an independent commission to investigate the possibility of a merger between the state's three public universities should they decline. He had made an election promise to take a heavy-handed approach towards the merger to reduce students departing to higher-ranking institutions on the east coast and to improve the state's ability to attract international students and researchers. At the time, staff's opinions were evenly divided on the idea of the commission. Following the appointment of merger advocate Peter Høj as University of Adelaide vice-chancellor, both universities announced that a merger would once again be considered. The universities began a feasibility study into a potential merger at the end of the year. The invitation to merger negotiations was rejected by Flinders University, the state's third public university.