A student secretly used ChatGPT during a VCE exam before being caught by a supervisor, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) said on Monday, and was among 109 students investigated for cheating in the 2025 exams.
The student uploaded questions to the popular chatbot and attempted to pass off AI-generated answers as their own. In a separate case, a student was caught copying answers from a nearby pupil, with examiners finding the two tests contained many identical answers, including wrong ones. Both had their marks reduced.
The 109 investigations were up from 87 in 2024, a 25 per cent increase in a single year. In total the authority investigated 188 alleged rule breaches. Copying or attempting to cheat was the most common, drawing 41 investigations, up from eight the year before. Mobile phone use prompted 31 investigations, compared with 19 in 2024. Unauthorised notes, communicating with other students and failing to stop writing when time ended were also investigated.
"The VCAA thoroughly investigates all alleged misconduct cases and may reduce a student's examination score if they are found to have breached examination rules," a spokesperson said. "While only a very small minority of students attempt to cheat in their VCE examinations, the VCAA has rigorous processes in place to ensure no student gains an unfair advantage by breaching examination rules."
The ChatGPT user admitted the breaches, while the student accused of copying their neighbour denied the claims but was found by a committee to have attempted to cheat. In 2025, 37 students received an administrative caution, 13 were reprimanded, 15 went before a review committee and no action was taken against 44.
Test seating plans are registered with exam administrators so accusations can be cross-checked, and supervisors accompany students on toilet breaks and wait outside the door. Most VCE students sit English, their first exam, next Tuesday; the exam period began in early October.