Year 12 Students in Melbourne Caught Cheating Using AI
ABC News
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Details
- Date Published
- 9 June 2026
- Priority Score
- 1
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 9 June 2026, 08:00 am
Description
An all-boys school in Melbourne's outer east has taken action after several students were caught cheating on a Year 12 exam using AI.
Summary
This incident highlights the immediate challenges of AI-enabled academic misconduct within the Victorian education system, specifically regarding Year 12 English assessments at Mazenod College. The school’s response aligns with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s (VCAA) integrity guidelines, which prohibit the use of uncredited AI tools in formal evaluations. While the event demonstrates current ethical risks associated with Large Language Model (LLM) misuse, it does not involve frontier model advancements or catastrophic risks. It signifies a local governance application of AI policy rather than a shift in global AI safety frameworks.
Body
Year 12 students at Melbourne's Mazenod College found cheating using AITopic:EducationTue 9 Jun 2026 at 5:53pmTue 9 Jun 2026 at 5:53pmTue 9 Jun 2026 at 5:53pmThe students at Mazenod College were spoken to after the school caught them cheating using AI. (Facebook)In short:Year 12 students at an all-boys school in Melbourne have been caught cheating on an English exam using AI.The students were spoken to after a school investigation into the incident, and their marks were reduced.The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority's rules state that using AI may breach academic integrity.An all-boys school in Melbourne's outer east says it has taken action after several students were caught cheating on a Year 12 exam using AI.Mulgrave's Mazenod College said it had recently discovered that some of its Year 12 students had used AI tools in an oral English exam, but would not confirm the exact number."The matter was thoroughly investigated, and all appropriate processes were followed in submitting results to the [Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority]," school principal Paul Shannon said.Mr Shannon said all the students were spoken to after the incident and their overall marks on the affected assessment were reduced."Written and oral assessment tasks, especially exams, are designed to measure a student's own understanding and independent thinking," he said."While the use of AI tools is a growing challenge within all schools, they have no place in assessments and examinations, where every student must be able to demonstrate their own knowledge, independently and fairly."The Mazenod College students' marks were reduced after an investigation into the use of AI. (Facebook)The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) provides advice to schools about the use of AI, including that using AI tools may be a breach of academic integrity.Schools ultimately have to investigate any suspected disallowed use of AI to ensure VCAA rules were not breached.VCAA rules state that students must submit work that is all their own, acknowledge all resources used and must not plagiarise or cheat.