Ombudsman referral: motions

The question put

That, pursuant to section 16 of the Ombudsman Act 1973, this house refers the following matters to the Ombudsman for investigation and report: (1) the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s (VCAA) admission of a significant error, which led to thousands of Victorian certificate of education (VCE) students gaining access to sample exam cover sheets containing nearly identical questions and case studies to those in their final exams; (2) the impact of this error on the integrity of the VCE examination process; (3) the adequacy of the VCAA’s response, which included minor alterations to compromised exams and replacement of instruction booklets, while allegedly failing to fully address the integrity issues and potential disadvantage caused to other students; (4) a review of the role and accountability of executive staff at the VCAA for the systemic errors; and (5) a complete review of the systems, processes, and resources used for the VCE examinations, given the evidence of a pattern of systemic failure over at least three years.