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The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency received 385 referrals about contract cheating in the first half of 2022, compared with 138 in 2021 and 21 in 2020. Cheating is becoming an “arms race”, and it ranges from students visiting cheating sites to have just one question answered, to paying ghost-writers to complete an entire subject. According to a professor in academic integrity, a new weapon in this race is artificial intelligence, which generates essays almost from scratch or answers problems with the right prompt.

African ghost-writer claims to have written hundreds of papers for New Zealand students while allegedly working for Eastern China-based academic essay writing service Assignment Joy. The anonymous whistle-blower alleges that some New Zealand students graduated without ever writing a single assignment. Urgent talks are ongoing between New Zealand universities and the Government to follow Australia’s move, outlaw cheating websites and block them from local access.

According to an expert the housing crisis, cost-of-living pressures, language barriers, and lack of time and support from universities are prompting students in Australia to turn to contract cheating. His research found about 10% of students submit assignments written by someone else, and more than 95% of them are not caught. He also found those with English as a second or subsequent language are three times more likely to employ ghostwriters.

WA universities have been caught up in claims their students are paying an academic ghost-writing service to complete their assignments. A whistle-blower claimed to have completed assignments for students at universities across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Australia’s Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Association recently cracked down on commercial academic cheat sites using Australia’s new anti-cheating laws. Students who pay to cheat are subject to their institution’s discipline policies.

TEQSA’s Higher Education Integrity Unit has updated a database of 2,333 suspected commercial academic cheating service websites, including 579 sites specifically targeting students at Australian Higher Education institutions. This intelligence sharing will enable providers to block access to these websites from their institutional networks and is part of TEQSA’s ongoing partnership with the Higher Education sector to strengthen cultures of academic integrity.

Following a growing number of misconduct allegations involving ministers and public servants, Queensland Department of Education Director-General announced zero tolerance to fraud and corruption and encouraged a culture of commitment to working with integrity. Employees and state school teachers and staff can now report alleged corruption through a new anonymous online portal.

The Social Research Centre’s 2021 National Student Safety Survey reported 1835 sexual harassment and sexual assault incidents in Australian universities. The qualitative report included the submission of an international student, harassed by a university staff member. The student was not only left with full responsibility for her safety while the university had continued to protect its staff member but was also asked to no longer attend school seminars or social events.

Online academic cheating services that offer to do assignments for less than AU$100 are targeting international students in Australia doing vocational courses at private colleges, including those that don’t require class attendance. According to the law introduced in September 2020, providers found to be selling or advertising contract cheating services can face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $110,000. Higher education providers are urging the federal government to extend this legislation to the Vocational Education and Training sector.