WA government seeks cost recovery from Deloitte over flawed university merger report
The Western Australian government is seeking an expedited reimbursement from Deloitte after errors were found in a paid feasibility study regarding a potential university merger.
Government claims financial discrepancy
Officials state the report contained hundreds of millions of dollars in cost discrepancies. The document calculated total costs as $399m while the actual sum of payments was $659m. This difference represents a gap of $260m that the government now wants recovered.
Errors include AI hallucinations
The study contained references generated by artificial intelligence that did not exist in reality. Experts say these mistakes discredited the entire document and suggested a need for manual review. The government paid $166,000 to Deloitte for this specific feasibility analysis.
Recommendation for new report
An expert in public sector governance believes the errors are so extensive that a new report is required. He argues the material must be reworked manually without using AI tools again. The government has requested an expedited process to handle this cost recovery.
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