‘Extremely disappointed’: WA government seeks reimbursement from Deloitte over flawed university report

The Western Australian government is seeking an expedited reimbursement from Deloitte after discovering errors in a feasibility study costing $166,000. Deloitte was hired to evaluate potential mergers between three tertiary institutions: University of Western Australia, Curtin University, and Murdoch University. The report contained significant discrepancies, with total costs calculated at $514m and $145m post-day one under the "high" cost scenario, but inaccurately listed as $399m.

The discrepancies amounted to $260m, leading to criticism of the report's reliability. An expert in public sector governance, Prof Stephen Bartos, stated that the errors were extensive and may require a new report or a manual rework. Another issue was the inclusion of AI-generated, false references, leading to the label "AI slop" by the state opposition.

Deloitte had admitted to using AI to support the report but initially dismissed the errors as minor. The government, through its tertiary education minister, acknowledged the errors but claimed they did not affect the report's findings. However, the report's inaccuracies and the presence of AI-generated content have raised concerns about the transparency and reliability of the findings, especially given the potential for significant financial implications.