As somebody whose goal is to do an MBA in Australia and then hopefully work there after graduation, I am a bit dismayed about the country's MBA programs performance in the FT rankings. Consider:

Melbourne Business School went from 61 to 80
AGSM went from 63 to 88 in two years
MGSM went from 74 to 97

I understand that this is not the only consideration. It is just a bit dismaying that these schools are losing some global credibility each year. I would feel a bit sheepish if I attended one of these MBA programs just to find out in 2 or 3 years it has vanished from the global arena.

Are there any explanations for why this is happening and predictions for the future?

Keep in mind that the FT ranking, although it is the best available, it is not without flaws.
It gives too much emphasis on the (very) controversial PPP index (the scaling of salaries).
Mostly because without it, almost every university on the list would be from the top developed countries, while this gives a fighting chance to 3rd countries. Flawed but the best we have.
In my personal opinion, without the PPP scaling, you would see those australian universities much higher on the list.

Also keep in mind, going to a top university in a country, (usually) gives you better chances of finding job in that country than many of the other ranked universities on the other side of the world. For example, you have much better chances -in australia- with the universities on your list than you would have with -for example- IIM, even though they are ranked higher.

My prediction for the future is that we will see more and more 3rd country universities joining the list and many universities from developed countries moving down or out. This does not makes them bad. Perhaps the FT should increase the list to top200

I'm not sure that looking at these schools in the 'Global MBA' context is super useful, not only for the reasons that George notes, but also that many students, like yourself, are looking to work in the country after graduation. That means that you should really only be concerned with the reputation on a national or regional level, rather than from an international perspective.

It gets more complicated when your goals include going somewhere else in the longterm. In that case it's useful to know of these schools' rankings on the global level, at least in the back of your mind. It also helps to look at the alumni networks of the schools and where they are located.

Schools in the 'West' will continue to fall for the next century. Nothing to worry about there at the national level. It will be a long time before Australian employers favour Shanghai MBAs over those from Melbourne and Sydney.

Agreed.

Thanks. That's a bit of a relief in all honesty.

Is anybody going to apply for the AGSM MBA for January 2021 intake?

I was thinking about it but am not so sure now with the coronavirus. Are you?

Is anybody going to apply for the AGSM MBA for January 2021 intake?