No it doesn't. Even Charles Sturt University has a better reputation than the University of Western Sydney. And I am not saying that because I go to CSU, it is just a general perception.
I saw in a forum posting that you wanted to do Journalism. Why don't you put Charles Sturt University Bathurst down as a preference? CSU has one of the best journalism degrees in Australia.
It isn't hard to move to CSU either, many students adapt very quickly and settle in. Plus, its only a 2 hour drive away from Sydney so it isn't that far away. If you don't have a car, then its only a 3 hour train trip that only costs $17 each way.
Check this out:
http://www.csu.edu.au/courses/undergraduate/communication_journalism/
Now to get back to UWS's reputation. It probably isn't a bad university, but with everything in Western Sydney, it has the "Westie" reputation attached to it. Whoever chose the name for the university should be strung up. They should have chose a generic name instead of using Western Sydney.
I fully understand the stigma attached to everything in Western Sydney. I did live in Blacktown and did attend Doonside Technology High School. I feel for you all.