Internet-based plagiarism detection service provider Turnitin is helping private education organisation NextEd to combat actual and potential academic misconduct including the detection of AI writing tools like ChatGPT—across a cohort of 15,000 domestic and international students. Since implementing Turnitin, NextEd has seen a noticeable increase in levels of understanding of academic integrity, improvements in researching and referencing, a rise in literacy skills, and a dramatic reduction in cases of plagiarism—from 140 to less than 20 cases per year, a drop of more than 85%.

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.

Curtin University implicated in unethical research using facial recognition technology to identify Uyghur and Tibetan minorities has lobbied unsuccessfully for the publishers to retract it on several occasions. An internal review of research by a resigned professor at the university found that he breached several ethical codes, including failing to obtain informed consent and approval. The article remains online although Curtin University deputy vice-chancellor has urged the publisher to remove all references to the university.

A major police investigation has been underway since August 2018 after serious concerns about the school’s finances and allegations of nepotism were referred by the Department of Education. According to the Financial and Cyber Crime Group, they misused $4.6 million from a private school south of Brisbane to buy expensive art and finance luxury trips to Europe and Asia.

116 cases of fraud and theft were revealed in the Department of Education staff in Queensland in 2018, including inappropriate use of public resources and misuse of corporate cards. The Crime and Corruption Commission charged a 46-year-old Education Department staff member with two counts of fraud totaling $110,000.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission is investigating past and present senior education department bureaucrats involved with the Ultranet computer project that was scrapped in 2013.Public hearings as part of IBAC's investigation began on Monday hearing allegations that senior department officials bought shares in the company awarded the project tender. The hearings were also told a senior official diverted funds from other projects to cover up a $60 million Ultranet cost blowout.

The boss of the Education Institute at the Royal Children’s Hospital has quit in the wake of evidence given during an anti-corruption inquiry. The RCH told the Herald Sun that it appeared to have been caught up in what is alleged to have been misuse of public funds distributed to various organisations via a network of “banker schools”.

A high-ranking Victorian education department official accused of running a corrupt scheme to siphon off money from school funding has been sacked. Former education department financial management general manager is the first scalp to be claimed by the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption (IBAC) hearings.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) says that universities in NSW should consider a range of key initiatives including separating the academic compliance and incentive functions of their international student offices to reduce the risk of corruption.