Western Australia presses Deloitte for refund over AI-assisted study errors
The state paid A$166,000 for a university merger analysis that included nonexistent references and incorrect cost calculations.
Deloitte faces a refund request from Western Australia’s government after errors emerged in an AI-assisted university merger study costing A$166,000. A government spokesperson told Guardian Australia that officials had written to the firm seeking faster repayment and expressed disappointment.
The cost-benefit study examined a proposed merger involving the University of Western Australia, Curtin University and Murdoch University. Deloitte disclosed that generative AI had assisted with research gathering, summarizing material and proofreading.
Questions about nonexistent references surfaced in October, beginning with a Reddit post, according to Times Higher Education. Deloitte initially described the mistakes as minor, and the government instructed it to produce a corrected version.
Guardian Australia subsequently identified arithmetic errors in the appendix. It reported that two costs associated with a Curtin-UWA merger added up to A$659 million, while the study listed A$399 million. TNW said it had not verified those figures.
The government spokesperson said officials had been assured the mistakes did not affect the modeling or conclusions, and that Deloitte would issue corrections. The firm did not answer Guardian Australia’s questions.
Deloitte previously agreed in 2025 to return part of the payment for an A$440,000 Australian federal government report containing AI-generated errors.
