Thousands of university places remain unfilled in Australia after the first round of offers was issued on Friday. A total of 48,652 offers for positions on courses were issued, a slight decrease in the offers from last year. The Universities Admissions Centre announced that 518 degree courses still have vacancies after the main round of offers, nearly half of all courses.

Nonetheless, cut-off levels for points have remained high in the most popular courses, with keen competition for places on medicine, veterinary science, specialised engineering and advanced maths courses.