Western Australia’s government is asking Deloitte for a refund after the consultancy delivered a flawed report on merging three state universities. The government paid A$166,000 for the study, which used generative AI to gather research and summarise information. The report included references to sources that do not exist and incorrect cost totals, according to Guardian Australia.
Deloitte said the errors were minor and promised to correct and reissue the report. The government, however, expressed disappointment and has written to Deloitte to speed up the refund process. The errors were first flagged by critics in October and included sums in the appendix that did not add up. For example, costs for a Curtin and UWA merger were given as A$399m, instead of the A$659m total in the appendix. The government said the errors do not affect the report’s overall findings.
This is not the first such incident. In 2025, Deloitte partly refunded Australia’s federal government for another AI-generated report with errors. Rival firms KPMG and PwC have faced similar issues with AI-written reports this year. The episode raises questions for regulated firms about oversight, risk controls, and the reliability of AI in financial and strategic analysis.
