Fully Online University Degrees in Australia (No Campus Attendance Required)

You can complete a full Australian university degree 100% online, with no need to visit a campus, attend labs, or sit in-person exams. In fact, online degrees now include Bachelor’s of Artificial Intelligence, Business, Criminology, Information Technology, and even Social Sciences.

Whether you live rurally, work full-time, have a family, or just need maximum flexibility, there are now more online degrees available than ever before. Actually, when I first started looking up online degrees to do the only ones available were Bachelor’s in business or nutrition (which was not what I was after at all!).

But not all “online” degrees are equal. Some still demand campus attendance for labs, exams, or placements. This guide explains which degrees are fully online, how to identify degrees that are only partly online, and which universities you can choose from.

What A “Fully Online” Degree Actually Means

A fully online degree means what it sounds like:

• No in-person classes
• No mandatory campus attendance
• All lectures, tutorials, and assessments completed remotely

You’ll usually access materials via a learning portal like Canvas, Blackboard or Moodle, and submit all assignments online. Exams are either online or supervised at approved testing centres. You’ll only be able to complete your exams online if you have a webcam as your uni will use a special portal (e.g., Respondus) to lock your browser and then access your webcam to make sure there’s no cheating going on.

But some degrees marketed as “online” are not completely online because they still require:

• In-person exams
• Intensive residential schools or labs (e.g., science practicals)
• Professional placements (especially for health, education, or engineering degrees)

Best Degrees to Study Fully Online in Australia

While there are a lot of degrees now available online there are some entire areas or disciplines that are not available at all. So here are the degrees most commonly available fully online (with no campus attendance required):

Bachelor of Arts
Flexible structure with majors like Sociology, History, Philosophy, Psychology (non-accredited), and English.

Bachelor of Business
Majors often include Marketing, Human Resource Management, Accounting, and Management.

Bachelor of Business (Financial Planning)
Often delivered fully online and suitable for those wanting to enter finance or advisory roles.

Bachelor of Communication or Bachelor of Media and Communication
Covers journalism, public relations, digital media, and content creation.

Bachelor of Criminology or Bachelor of Justice Studies
Ideal for careers in policing, corrections, or legal policy.

Bachelor of Early Childhood Education
Coursework is fully online; practical placements can usually be arranged locally.

Bachelor of Information Technology
Includes specialisations like Cybersecurity, Data Science, and Software Development.

Bachelor of Social Science or Bachelor of Human Services
Suitable for careers in community services, case work, or social policy — placements often required but can usually be done locally.

Degrees in Engineering, Health, Medicine, Nursing, Science, and Teaching require practicals or clinics, often on a weekly basis during semester. Most of the health- and teaching- related degrees have placements too. So, these degrees can’t be completed online.

How to Tell If a Degree Is Truly Online

If you already know which degree you want to do, or at least the area/discipline, then the fastest way to find if a uni offers it online is to use the Open Universities site. They have a helpful search page that let’s you search based on your degree or area and it will show you if any uni in Australia offers an online course for it. But make sure you look under the ‘Study Method’ to confirm the degree is offered fully online.

If it says ‘Online & on-campus‘ that means you’ll have to attend a campus for some components. For example, in a Bachelor of Science you would have to attend for practicals.

Whereas if it says ‘100% online‘ then you know you won’t have to set foot on campus and can complete your degree from anywhere. For example, in a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) you can complete it all using the universities online portals.

Universities That Offer Fully Online Degrees

If you aren’t sure what area you want to study, here’s a list of Australian universities offering fully online degrees, no campus attendance required, to give you some ideas:

📌 Tap or click on each university name below to expand and view their online degrees. If you’re having trouble viewing the list, try disabling browser extensions or refresh the page.

When I made this list the universities said these courses were offered 100% online, but make sure you doublecheck before enrolling.To learn more about how to get into a course even if you have a low ATAR read this guide.

So, when checking out possible online degrees remember:

Check for:
✅ “No campus attendance” or “100% online”
✅ Online exams (or local supervised test centres)
✅ Fully online tutorials or recorded lectures
✅ Online assessments (no in-person exams or presentations)

Avoid degrees that say:
❌ “Blended” or “mixed mode”
❌ “Online with intensive on-campus requirements”
❌ “Online delivery — residential school required”

Contact the uni to double-check any degrees that say “External” as this can mean either 100% online or it can mean blended.

Real Example 1: Bachelor of Business

✅ Available at multiple universities (UNE, CSU, OUA)
✅ Entirely online (all lectures, assessments, exams included)
❌ No need to attend campus, ever
⚠️ Optional intensive workshops sometimes offered (but not required)

Real Example 2: Bachelor of Science

⚠️ Offered ‘online’ by some unis
❌ Includes in-person labs, residential schools, or science practicals.
❌ Not fully online.

Fully Online Universities (or Best Known for Online Delivery)

If you aren’t sure what are you want to study, or maybe you want to pick your university first and course second, here is a list of unis that are well known for their online degrees. Southern Cross University is included in the list, although at the moment they only offer postgraduate online study.

University	Known For	Online Highlights
University of New England (UNE)	Long-time distance education leader	100% online options in arts, business, teaching, psychology
Charles Sturt University	Strong online infrastructure	Online degrees in IT, law, teaching, policing, social work
University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ)	Regional university with online focus	Offers fully online engineering theory, business, arts
Deakin University (Cloud Campus)	High-quality online platform	Strong in health, education, and business (placement may be required)
Southern Cross University	Flexible options for working adults	Fully online options in business, law, arts

Not sure if you qualify for uni yet? Here’s how to get into university without an ATAR, using pathways like prep programs or Certificate IVs.

Tips for Studying Fully Online

Studying online can be easier and harder at the same time. It’s easier because you can do it all yourself without ever leaving home, but sometimes it can be harder to stay organised and on top of your assessments. To help you get started read this helpful guide for studying fully online.

• Stay organised: Remember there’s no weekly lectures to remind you what’s due
• Find an accountability system: online learning can feel isolating, so self-setting deadlines are important
• Check placement requirements early: especially for health and education areas
• Ask about exam formats: online exams are common, but not guaranteed