Major universities abandon AI detection tools amid fears of false accusationsAustralia’s tertiary education sector is facing an alarming reckoning, as a new problem sweeps the country – and the world.William Elliott3 min readAugust 13, 2026 - 5:08PMAustralia’s university sector is buckling under the sudden explosion of artificial intelligence, with campuses struggling to catch students using AI to cheat without wrongly accusing those who have done their own work.Sydney third year law student David Church, 21, told news.com.au AI use among students was “definitely more common now compared to first year”, with the technology being used for everything from brainstorming and explaining concepts to keeping up with weekly coursework and tutorial participation.“AI is basically the 20 per cent effort that gets you the 80 per cent of the results,” Mr Church said.“I don’t really see it as cheating since you’re never going to excel particularly far if you’re relying on it entirely.“I just think it’s counterintuitive and cheating yourself.”But the difficulty of determining whether someone has actually used AI is creating problems of its own within Australian universities. Others you may likenewsnews“I’ve had friends accused of using AI who claim to me that they never did,” Mr Church said.“They basically just denied it and the accusations went away with no further investigation.“You can never really prove it … nobody really knows.”The comments come as Australian universities confront two competing problems: increasingly accessible methods of cheating, and the risk of wrongly accusing students of misconduct.Australian Catholic University (ACU) abandoned Turnitin’s AI detection tool in March 2025 after determining it was ineffective.According to internal documents previously reported on by the ABC, ACU recorded nearly 6000 alleged academic misconduct cases in 2024, with about 90 per cent relating to AI use, although the university said those figures were substantially overstated.AI use can be tough to prove. Picture: iStockACU said about one-quarter of all referrals were dismissed following investigation and any case where Turnitin’s AI detection tool was the sole evidence was dismissed immediately.University of Melbourne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Gregor Kennedy said Turnitin’s AI detection tool isn’t relied on as the sole basis for an allegation of misconduct. “Turnitin produces an AI writing report, which alone is not a sufficient basis for an allegation of misconduct,” he said. “The University requires staff to consider additional evidence before making a report of misconduct.”Turnitin itself warns its AI-writing report may misidentify both human and AI-generated text and should not be used as the sole basis for adverse action against a student.A university tutor recently told student newspaper Farrago of the difficulty of investigating suspected AI use. “You get paid 30 minutes per essay,” they said.“To do a real, in-depth analysis of whether it’s written by AI takes you like two hours.”They said there is so much AI misconduct to work through that the backlog is months-long.The Sydney Morning Herald reported in February that offshore syndicates were targeting Australian students through social media and university groups before outsourcing work to contractors overseas.Warnings from university officials and the tertiary education regulator say students who hand over university login details can expose themselves to identity theft, cybersecurity risks and blackmail.The use of AI has exploded within Aussie unis. Picture: AP Photo/Michael DwyerNew approachSome universities are responding to the challenges presented by AI by redesigning assessments and exams rather than trying to ban the technology outright.The University of Sydney has developed a two-lane approach, allowing AI in some assessments while using secure tasks to verify students can demonstrate their own learning.More Coverage23yo’s massive weekly income dividesWilliam Elliott‘No advantage’: Aussies slam popular degreeWilliam ElliottUniversity of Sydney educational technology professor Danny Liu has argued the focus should be on whether students are actually learning, rather than simply trying to catch them cheating.The University of Melbourne is taking a similar approach, moving towards more oral exams and tasks that can be supervised in an effort to avoid AI use. As AI tools become more sophisticated, universities face two risks at once: failing to catch students using the technology to cheat, and penalising students who did the work themselves.Join the conversationAdd your comment to this storyTo join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? RegisterJoin the conversation, you are commenting as LogoutMore related storiesAt WorkTwist after major mining strike rocks AusWorkers at Australia’s largest iron ore port have staged their second strike in months - but the company and unions can’t even agree on how many people stopped working.Read moreMediaABC boss exits amid Four Corners scandalA long-serving ABC boss has quit the network in the wake of the broadcaster’s scandal involving sacked Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal.Read moreTravelQantas’ plan to send 1k jobs overseasThe airline once fined $90m for illegally axing workers is now eyeing up to 1000 more job cuts as it races to embrace artificial intelligence.Read more