The University of Notre Dame Australia was founded through an Act of the Parliament of Western Australia in December 1989. Since its inception, Notre Dame has become a leader in higher education and now boasts over 11,000 students enrolled across its three campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome.

The University is especially noteworthy for its role as a leader in the great traditional professional disciplines of Health and Education, so long associated with the mission of the Church in Australia. It has also assumed a special role in the education of, and service to, the indigenous people of northern Australia.