Risks using AI in classrooms 'go beyond cheating', education expert says

How education departments across the country are cracking down on students using AI to cheat Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology could have significant implications for the future of education, according to one of Australia's leading AI education experts. A federal framework for ethical and responsible AI use was released by the Albanese government in 2023, which focused on protecting students and assisting educators. While it was intended to set national standards for AI use, since then state education departments have adopted their own approaches in an effort to clamp down on AI-enabled cheating. New South Wales Recently, the New South Wales government proposed a major overhaul of the Higher School Certificate (HSC), pushing to ban unsupervised take-home assignments for year 11 and 12 students to combat AI cheating. It was prompted by more than 1,000 recorded cheating cases in 2025 and rising concerns over AI in writing student essays. University of Technology Sydney professor in AI and Education, Lesley Loble, said AI in learning spaces could have implications that "go beyond cheating". "The process of learning relies on converting the working memory of new information into retained memory and knowledge. "AI is disrupting that process and keeping us much more in surface learning, not the deep retained knowledge upon which we build understanding." She said AI gives "short-term" boosts, keeping the user reliant on it for more answers. "What we're seeing in the research is that we're increasing dependency, and it becomes a vicious cycle because we're not converting that information into long-term knowledge," she said. Professor Loble said the NSW government's proposal was a step in the right direction but "we have to take the threats and risks seriously". While warning there were a "basket of risks", Professor Loble said there was evidence that students who were falling behind in class could benefit from using AI-tools to catch up. "For students, there is growing evidence that AI tools can be helpful for kids who are falling behind. On the other hand, there's definitely a basket of risks." The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) developed a policy on the use of AI in schools in 2024, which states that unapproved use of AI in completing assignments is a breach of academic integrity. Under that protocol, students must complete a learning unit called All My Own Work (AMOW) before they are eligible to take HSC courses and to be awarded the HSC. South Australia In South Australia, the approach to AI in schools stands out nationally. The SA government has embraced AI in public education rather than banning it. They partnered with Microsoft to develop a ChatGpt-style AI tool for classrooms, called EdChat. South Australia has rolled out 'EdChat', a large language model similar to Chat GPT or Claude, something no other state has done so far. Ed Chat was delivered through a partnership with Microsoft and is branded as a custom, secure generative AI tool for public high schools. After trialling the software, the SA government said a broader rollout would facilitate safe and productive technology use. It was an example of how AI tools can be used to help students who need it, according to Professor Loble. "The tool challenges the student through further questioning and providing some information but not the answer, to essentially have a much more robust approach to learning built into the tools. "These are examples of how you can have design standards that will give us greater confidence of the technology in schools," she said. A Department of Education spokesperson told the ABC that the state government recently announced a nation-leading royal commission into AI commencing in October this year. "Our teachers are supported to use a range of assessment types including oral, written, multimodal and performance modes so that evidence of learning is collected in multiple ways. "It is expected that teachers' professional judgement continues to be applied when assessing a student's work," the statement said. Victoria In Victoria, The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) provides advice on how schools use AI, and sets standards for academic integrity. Those standard state students must submit work they have produced on their own, acknowledge the resources they used to complete it and must not plagiarise or otherwise cheat. Individual schools are left to adjudicate on whether suspected cases of AI use have breached the VCAA standards. VCAA rules state that students must submit work that is all their own, acknowledge all resources used and must not plagiarise or cheat. A VCAA spokesperson told the ABC the authority requires work submitted for assessment is the student's own, except where assistance is explicitly permitted and acknowledged. "The vast majority of work students do to complete their VCE certificate is already completed under supervision in class. "The best integrity control is our teachers — they know their students and monitor their progress as they complete take-home tasks to make sure their work is their own. "We continue to explore ways to protect academic integrity with respect to AI," the statement said. Professor Loble says Victoria is leading the way in screen time restrictions for primary schools. Starting in term 1, 2027, the Victorian government has introduced strict daily screen time caps and device rules for all state primary schools. The rules state that schools must not invite or allow families to purchase or bring their own student digital device to use at school from Prep to year 6. It's "worth a conversation" if this should become a national standard, Professor Loble said. "Screen time caps, age standards, should those be national standards? These are the sorts of things that ministers should be considering," she said. Queensland The Queensland Department of Education and the Queensland Curriculum Assessment Authority (QCAA) work together to protect the integrity of the state's Certificate of Education qualification. The QCAA provides advice to schools about academic integrity, which includes a course on the subject that all students must complete during their senior years. They work together to support schools and maintain the Queensland Certificate of Education qualification by supporting a balanced approach to teaching and assessment. The Department of Education said in a statement that the QCAA provides advice to schools about academic integrity in its policy and procedures handbook and requires students to complete an academic integrity course during senior schooling. "Digital tools, including emerging technologies such as AI, are used in the classroom where they add value to student learning. Schools continue to maintain an appropriate balance between digital and non-digital learning. "Decisions about device use and how technology is integrated into learning and assessment are made by principals in consultation with their school communities," the statement added. Western Australia Western Australia has adopted the federal government's Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools. That was a "good place to start" but Professor Loble said there were gaps that needed to be filled to minimise risks. In a statement sent to the ABC, the WA Department of Education said they were monitoring developments in generative AI. "Developing an understanding of the ethical use of AI is an important part of the Western Australian Curriculum from pre-primary to year 12. "Schools with year 11 and 12 students are required to implement a senior secondary assessment policy which provides information to those students, their parents/guardians, and teachers on authentication of student work, including cheating, collusion, plagiarism, appropriation, and unacknowledged use of artificial intelligence applications," the statement said. Northern Territory & Tasmania The Northern Territory and Tasmania's Department of Education's use of generative AI in schools both operate under the national Australian Framework for Generative AI in schools. Like WA, education departments in Tasmania and the Northern Territory have adopted the federal government's framework. The NT Council of Government School Organisations tracks AI deployment to balance equitable student access against risks such as bias and diminished human connection and has oversight. AI use is permitted under the AI framework, but it empowers individual public schools to develop their own localised processes to meet territory expectations, according to the NT Department of Education. The Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Young People (DECYP) regulates AI tools via risk assessments, permitting low-risk systems like Microsoft Copilot for staff while restricting unvetted student apps, alongside managing recent safety and deepfake controversies. A DECYP spokesperson told the ABC that AI apps and websites have been blocked for all students on DECYP devices and networks. "The Department has policies, procedures and support resources for principals and teachers related to generative AI in schools, including an academic integrity guide," the statement said. There are no take-home exams used as part of the end-of-year external assessment program for year 11 and 12 senior secondary courses in Tasmania. Low-risk approaches can work to the student's benefit, but it's important not to miss out on using AI as an enhanced learning tool, Professor Loble said. "What we are seeing now is widespread use of AI by teachers and students. "So it's become so much more integral," she said. Professor Loble called for consensus among state departments for AI in schools. "Australia has taken the lead globally in setting standards in social media technology, we could certainly set standards for education technology."