- Australian universities are starting to integrate AI into their grading processes, but viewpoints remain significantly divided.
- Adelaide University, Newcastle, Deakin, and RMIT allow AI to assist in grading on the condition that faculty members remain ultimately responsible.
- RMIT permits AI to draft initial feedback and detect anomalies but forbids total reliance on the technology.
- Newcastle requires faculty to double-check results, inform students, and allow them to opt out of AI usage.
- The University of Adelaide only allows AI for assistance; faculty must personally read, evaluate, and verify the entire assignment.
- Deakin allows AI to improve the quality of feedback but not for assigning actual grades.
- Monash, Wollongong, and James Cook are currently studying the potential application of AI in assessment processes.
- UNSW, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Sydney prohibit faculty from using AI to mark or grade exams.
- Many other institutions, including Macquarie, Canberra, Charles Sturt, Central Queensland, New England, and Southern Queensland, also do not use AI for grading.
- Among the 24 universities that responded to the survey, all stated that faculty are permitted or encouraged to use AI in their general work.
- Newcastle is testing AI in teaching, including short explanatory videos and AI avatars in classrooms.
- The University of Sydney has seen faculty strikes, partly due to concerns over AI’s impact on jobs and educational quality.
- All universities emphasize that academic assessment, feedback, and final decisions must still be performed by humans.
📌 Australian higher education is shifting from debate to the implementation of AI in teaching and assessment, yet maintains a clear boundary between support and human replacement. While many institutions accept AI for drafting feedback or process support, grading and academic judgment remain the responsibility of faculty members to ensure educational quality and fairness in student assessment.
