In 2014 the ANU council agreed to sell shares in seven resource and mining companies following an independent review, which then prime minister Tony Abbott labelled a "stupid decision".

The university's second socially responsible investment policy report reveals holdings in four of the companies previously identified for divestment ??? Santos, Newcrest Mining, Sandfire Resources and Oil Search.

The report shows total investments of more than $320 million including $3.35 million in Newcrest and $621,653 in Santos.

Student campaigner Matt Rogers criticised the reversal.

"How can it have become more acceptable in the last two years to invest in fossil fuels?" Mr Rogers said.

"This mars the small progress they have made ... it fails to acknowledge the political dimensions of the issue and hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their climate obstructionism and blatant disregard for the planet."

After coming under attack in 2014, ANU received support from many quarters. A full-page open letter in The Canberra Times was signed by more than 50 prominent Australians including John Hewson and Malcolm Fraser.

Mr Rogers said the uproar showed divestment was politically potent.

"If the ANU were to take a strong moral stance it would help strip the fossil fuel industry of its social licence," he said.

"Instead, the ANU continues to ignore calls from staff and students to divest and show leadership on climate change."

Researcher at The Australia Institute, Tom Swann, said many people felt betrayed and he called on ANU to show moral leadership.

"Santos has now declared it's planning for a world of four degrees warming. Even the World Bank says that is catastrophic," he said.

An ANU spokesman said it was one of the first universities to adopt a socially responsible investment policy.

"As a result of that policy, we don't invest in companies whose primary business is coal, gambling, tobacco or pornography, and we have taken steps to reduce the carbon intensity of our portfolio," he said.

"In October 2015, ANU council decided to move away from direct management of its domestic investment portfolio, and instead appointed an external portfolio manager to improve the management of its endowment.

"At its meeting in April, ANU council received an update on the performance of the investment portfolio and decided to make the report available in the interests of full transparency."

The spokesman said ANU would review the policy's effectiveness in achieving high and stable returns while decreasing carbon intensity.

"These efforts are a part of an overall commitment to make ANU a more sustainable university," he said.

When ANU sold Santos shares they were fetching more than $12. The price yesterday closed at $3.67.