Use of Artificial Intelligence by students

Advances in AI technology have significant implications for the future of education in NSW and globally. Like any technology, AI can be used to augment teaching and learning, curriculum, and pedagogy. AI will never replace strong curriculum, effective assessment and good teaching practices.

NESA has developed a policy on the use of AI in schools. This policy falls under NESA’s existing rules governing academic honesty, and the use of external reference materials and sources in student work. Schools and school sectors remain responsible for policies concerning the use of AI in schools. Schools and teachers will decide how best to use AI to support teaching and learning, in accordance with sector policies.

AI has implications for academic honesty (see ACE 10.1). Unapproved use of AI in the completion of assignments is a breach of academic integrity. All work presented in assessment tasks and external examinations (including submitted works and practical examinations) must be a student’s own or must be acknowledged appropriately (see ACE 10.1.1).

All students must complete All My Own Work (AMOW), or its equivalent, to be eligible for entry into a Preliminary and/or HSC course, and for the award of the HSC. NESA has updated AMOW topics in Term 3, 2024 which includes a new topic covering ethical use of AI. NESA advises that schools should incorporate instruction on how to acknowledge all materials appropriately, including AI, in alignment with NESA’s published rules and guidelines. NESA also provides resources to support the teaching of correct source referencing. Schools should have practices in place ensuring that students have confidence that plagiarism controls will be fairly applied.

Advice for students

Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty are unacceptable. You should be aware that current rules for cheating and plagiarism still apply to AI (see ACE 10.1.1). All work should be your own or correctly acknowledged. It is important that you take academic pride and ownership by submitting original work.

AI can also be unreliable and must always be monitored by a human. AI can produce biased and/or toxic content, false information or facts that aren’t based on real data or events and false citations. This could compromise the quality of your submissions. 

Advice for teachers

Teachers should be aware of, and comply with, sector and school policies for using AI, which can be used to enhance students’ learning experiences in approved and monitored contexts. In line with good assessment practice, schools should ensure a variety of task types that enable students to demonstrate their learning against achievement standards either with or without AI (See ACE 2.2.1).

All assessment should validly assess student learning. Teachers are the best judges of student work, recognising student voice and assessing authenticity of their work.

Schools need to develop policies and procedures to support teachers in the use of AI. Students should be confident that plagiarism controls will be fairly applied, even in low-level cases.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following supporting documentation:

• ACE Rule 2
• ACE Rule 10