Victorian exam blunder triggers overhaul of state assessment authority

A major exam error in the Australian state of Victoria allowed thousands of Year 12 students to access exam questions before they were administered, prompting a sweeping review of the state's examination authority and a leadership shake-up. The lapse affected 65 of 116 Victorian Certificate of Education exams after a junior staff member mishandled the 2024 papers. The breach occurred because the questions appeared in transparent text when copied from instructional cover sheets at the front of online booklets, enabling students to see the material ahead of time.

The incident triggered an independent review led by Yehudi Blacher. The first installment culminated in the sacking of the entire board in April, while the second phase laid bare deeper organizational and cultural issues within the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). Blacher said the root causes pointed to a culture in need of fundamental change and renewal. The 65-page document outlined a pattern of blame across departments, silos between staff with different professional backgrounds, and what it described as a culture of fear in several units, where staff felt at risk for speaking up or challenging decisions.

There was widespread feedback that the authority operated under a climate of blame and, at times, poor behavior. An anonymous submission highlighted an endemic bullying problem and suggested senior management had struggled to address it effectively. Other submissions described dismissive behavior, a reluctance to collaborate across functions, and inconsistent expectations that fostered a tense workplace where professional disagreements were sometimes conducted unprofessionally. The report noted that fear of repercussions hindered open discussion and corrective action, undermining the authority’s ability to manage exam development and assessment reliably.

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Ben Carroll criticized the prior board, saying that while strategies matter, culture determines whether they succeed. He argued that decisions driven by concern about negative press or public perception can eclipse sound processes, underscoring the need for cultural reform alongside structural changes.

Blacher’s review considered two major options: winding up the authority and transferring its curriculum and examination development and assessment functions into the Department of Education. He ultimately recommended retaining the VCAA as the statutory authority to avoid risks to delivering the department’s core functions. The overarching aim, he said, is to reset the organization’s leadership, capabilities and culture, ensuring renewal across nearly every area after three consecutive years of examination issues.

Among the concrete steps, the panel urged a complete leadership and capability reset, process and system improvements, and a strengthened governance framework. The authority said it had begun implementing reforms in line with the recommendations, while the opposition criticized the proposed timeline—up to three years—for delivering the changes as unacceptable. Andrew Smith, the VCAA chief executive, said the organization was already pursuing rebuilding efforts, including leadership changes and culture reform, to restore confidence in the system.

The 2024 debacle followed a sequence of earlier problems in Victoria’s exam cycle, including errors in 2023 general mathematics and chemistry papers, six students receiving an incorrect Chinese-language exam, and five questions in the 2022 mathematics exams containing errors. Taken together, the findings underscore enduring governance and culture issues at the authority and the government’s longer-term plan to retool how exams are developed, supervised and assessed in the state. The review’s conclusions and recommendations are expected to shape policy and practice for years to come as Victoria seeks to restore trust in its public examinations.