Under this arrangement, Malaysian students would enrol and spend their first year in Malaysia, before transferring to one of Monash's Australian campuses to complete their degree.

Monash itself had ambitions to develop a comprehensive international campus from the beginning of Mal Logan's term as Vice-Chancellor.

In early 1996, it was reported that the Australian Prime Minister had been involved in the signing of a memorandum of understanding to establish the campus.

On 23 February 1998, the Malaysian Government formally invited Monash to develop a comprehensive campus, making it the first foreign university in Malaysia.

In July of that year, Monash University's newly founded Malaysia campus opened its doors to its first intake of 261 students.