Western Australia's government is seeking a fast refund from Deloitte after a state-commissioned report on merging three universities was found to contain AI-generated references to sources that do not exist, as well as incorrect cost totals. The state paid A$166,000 for the study.
A government spokesperson told Guardian Australia that the state was very disappointed and had written to Deloitte asking it to speed up the refund.
Deloitte wrote the cost-benefit analysis for a plan to merge the University of Western Australia, Curtin University and Murdoch University. The report states that the firm used generative AI to help gather research, summarize information and proofread the document.
Critics first flagged the made-up references earlier in October, beginning with a post on Reddit, according to Times Higher Education. At the time, Deloitte described them as minor errors. The government told the firm to fix the report and reissue it.
The problems did not stop there. Since then, Guardian Australia has found incorrect sums in the report's appendix. In one case, two costs for a Curtin and UWA merger added up to A$659 million, but the report listed A$399 million.
The government said it had been told the errors do not change the report's modeling or findings. Deloitte will correct the figures and reissue the report, the spokesperson said. The firm did not respond to Guardian Australia's questions.
Deloitte has been down this road before. In 2025, the company agreed to partly refund the federal government for a A$440,000 report that also contained AI-generated errors. Rival firms KPMG and PwC have faced similar problems with AI-written reports this year, underscoring how quickly consulting work produced with generative tools can run into trouble when it leaves the building without a careful check.
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