This paper offers observations from an Association of University Administrators (AUA) study visit to Australia at a time of considerable hostility by some Vice-Chancellors towards the radical reforms implemented by John Howard's conservative Government. The team of ten senior managers, led by Ian Creagh of the AHUA/AUA International Committee, visited eight universities from the research powerhouse Australian National University (ANU) to Darwin in the Northwest Territory; it also visited the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC, renamed Universities Australia in May 2007) and IDP Education Pty Ltd, a global company part-owned by thirty-eight Australian universities which represents all education sectors and offers student recruiting and testing services around the globe. The team focused on three themes: (1) variable student fees funded against credit; (2) internationalization; and (3) governance. Lessons for the UK are offered, particularly in relation to the removal of any distinction between part-time and full-time students, the establishment of robust IT systems to recover student loans, the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000 kite mark, and the high profile institutional leadership of international activities. (Contains 4 footnotes and 2 tables.)