Australian Catholic University falsely accuses students of cheating using flawed AI detection
Australian Catholic University used flawed AI detection software to falsely accuse approximately 6,000 students of cheating with AI in 2024. The university later acknowledged the figures were substantially overstated and abandoned the unreliable tool after students faced withheld results and career setbacks.
What happened
Australian Catholic University (ACU) registered nearly 6,000 cases of alleged academic misconduct across its nine campuses in 2024, with about 90 per cent of referrals relating to AI use. Deputy Vice-Chancellor Tania Broadley acknowledged the figures were 'substantially overstated' and that half of all confirmed breaches involved unauthorised or undisclosed use of AI.
Students were wrongly accused of cheating based on flawed AI detection software. A final-year nursing student named Madeleine was accused of using AI on an assignment while applying for graduate positions and received an email from the university titled 'Academic Integrity Concern'; it took six months for her name to be cleared.
Reported impact
Students faced withheld academic results during investigations into their cases. Madeleine believes the accusation and the 'results withheld' mark on her transcript damaged her career prospects and contributed to her not being offered a graduate nursing position, which most hospitals require for employment.
Index analysis
The AI detection system generated a high rate of false positives, flagging legitimate submissions as AI-generated. ACU later abandoned the unreliable AI tool as a controversy reignited debates over ethics and accuracy in AI-driven academic misconduct detection.
Governance controls
ACU's academic misconduct investigation process took months to clear students of wrongdoing, during which time their results were withheld and their academic records were marked. The university would not reveal how many students were wrongly accused of cheating.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.