Not surprisingly, only a few postgraduate participants stated that university students were at risk of catching pandemic influenza. When participants were required to rate their self-perceived risk of contracting pandemic influenza in Australia during an outbreak, almost all of them rated themselves at the low end of the scale. Being young and leading a healthy lifestyle were the major reasons provided to justify the low self-perceived risks levels. Only two overseas participants considered themselves at the 'relatively high risk' end. However, they presented very different justifications for this ranking, as one thought that their 'adventurous lifestyle' put them at risk and the other because of the dynamic nature of the university environment.