Secrecy and ‘unchecked authority’ flourished at Victoria’s exam authority, report finds

A culture of secrecy and fear has left the authority that runs Victoria’s VCE system in such a poor state that it will take years to fix.

Governance expert Yehudi Blacher said he was left with “sadness and disappointment” after he reviewed the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) following last year’s exams debacle, when questions on 65 of the test papers were accidentally made public before the exams.

Students at a VCE English exam last year.Credit: Joe Armao

But the reviewer stopped short of calling for the troubled authority – which has been reviewed several times in recent years – to be disbanded or absorbed into the Education Department, arguing that the VCAA should remain a statutory authority.

Blacher’s review, which received submissions from 180 current and former VCAA workers, was told that decision-making at the authority was driven by a fear of bad press, secrecy and unchecked authority. It also heard there was a culture of impunity for behaviour that would be unacceptable in other workplaces.

The scathing 65-page report of the “root and branch review”, which was released on Monday afternoon, was ordered by Education Minister Ben Carroll last year as he tried to manage the fallout of the exams leak.

Blacher concluded in the report that the authority needed renewal in “almost all areas of its operations” and made 11 major recommendations for the body. He warned it would not be quick or easy to turn around an organisation facing so many problems.

“Achieving those objectives will be neither easy nor quick,” Blacher said.

“It has suffered from of lack of leadership, management and governance failures, a poor organisational culture, inefficient business processes and difficult relationships with the Department of Education and external stakeholders.”

He said in his findings the overwhelming sentiment was one of sadness and disappointment at the dysfunctional state of the VCAA.

One submission to the review said many of the body’s decisions “appear reactive, driven by fear of bad press rather than sound process”.

Governance expert Yehudi Blacher has reviewed the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority for the state government.

“The VCAA’s culture is shifting – from an open, consultative organisation to one driven by fear, secrecy, and unchecked authority. Decisions that once followed transparent processes are now made by individuals who appear to act without accountability,” the report says.

Blacher also urged the government to keep an independent monitor in place for another 12 months or until the minister was satisfied the body had the processes in place to undertake its functions.

“Feedback from VCAA staff has highlighted the positive impact of the monitor as an additional
source of advice and assurance for a very complex examination and assessment process,” Bacher’s report says.

“Given the far-reaching findings of this review and the VCAA’s poor track record in responding to
and implementing the findings of prior reviews, we recommend an independent monitor remain in
place for a further 12 months or until the minister is satisfied that the VCAA has the systems and
processes to undertake its functions effectively.”

Last year, 65 exams – more than half of the 116 VCE subjects – were affected when questions were inadvertently leaked on practice papers. Questions were removed from the sample test material when the mistake was discovered – but some students had already downloaded them, while others accessed them using internet archive tools.

More to come

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