Macquarie University is a public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. Macquarie University was formally established in 1964 with the passage of the Macquarie University Act 1964 by the New South Wales parliament. The university positions itself as being research intensive. In 2012, 85% of Macquarie's broad fields of research was rated 'at or above world standard' in the Excellence in Research for Australia 2012 National report. The university is within the top 3 universities in Australia for the number of peer-reviewed publications produced per academic staff member. The university has the largest student exchange program in Australia.