There are rules in place to support students, educators and researchers uphold the academic integrity of RMIT.
Academic integrity is ‘the expectation that teachers, students, researchers and all members of the academic community act with: honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.’
In practical terms, it means developing, and submitting for assessment, your own academic work. Breaches of academic integrity include plagiarism, collusion, and contract cheating, which can attract serious consequences.
To be confident of maintaining your academic integrity, read each of the below four sections carefully and complete the recommended activities.
We encourage all RMIT students to complete the Academic Integrity Awareness digital credential.
This is the best way to understand what academic integrity is, how to maintain it, your responsibilities, and how to protect yourself from accidental breaches.
From January 2023, all higher education students are required to complete the digital credential when starting their studies at RMIT University.
To refresh your understanding of academic integrity, you can take the Acting with Academic Integrity online tutorial.
RMIT Training student? You can also test your knowledge with this Academic Misconduct quiz.
Our study support resources can help with academic integrity, assignment writing and lots more. They include:
RMIT Vietnam students: Go to the Library services and Student Academic Success pages for study support and resources.
RMIT Training students: For help improving your study skills, ask the Academic Support team via academic.support@rmit.edu.au.
The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) is Australia’s independent national quality assurance and regulatory agency for higher education. TEQSA has developed the following resources for use by students, academics and teachers to promote understanding of academic integrity.
RMIT’s Academic Integrity Policy outlines the behaviours required in an academic community: acting with honesty, fairness, respect and responsibility.
There may be serious consequences for breaches of academic integrity, including the cancellation of results, suspension or expulsion.
To find out more about these breaches and what they mean, complete the Academic Integrity Awareness digital credential.
The following University policies provide more information about academic integrity and conduct, including official definitions and your student responsibilities.
These are real stories of RMIT students who were penalised for plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. Their stories are anonymous, read by former or current student volunteers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are likely to be an integral part of future life and work. RMIT is committed to preparing our students to know how to engage and work appropriately with AI.
You may be guided by your educators to use AI tools in your learning, so that you can better understand possibilities and limitations and how they may be used ethically and appropriately in your future work.
The use of AI tools in your studies will be guided by your program and course requirements. Inappropriate use of AI in your learning and assessment could result in a breach of academic integrity. It’s always best to check with your Program Manager or Program/Course Coordinators for more information.
RMIT may use tools to detect the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in assessments where AI tools are not permitted.
You are permitted to use AI tools like ChatGPT as a study aid to supplement your learning. For example, you may ask questions of an AI to help clarify your reading interpretation or to help confirm your understanding of a topic, noting however that AI responses can be out of date, biased, not always correct, or not to be relied upon.
AI may or may not be permitted in coursework or assessments, depending on your course requirements. Check the information in the course guides and assessment task instructions to understand how AI tools can be used. If you’re unsure or if it’s not specified, ask your Program or Course Coordinator.
Any ideas or outputs generated by AI must be referenced accurately in your academic work, otherwise it is considered plagiarism. This means you must use citations crediting the tool/s where appropriate, as well as including it in your reference list – just like you would any other resource. See the Library's AI referencing guide for specific AI referencing information.
You should always think critically about any content provided to you, whether from an AI tool or other sources. It’s important to remember that you should always verify the content provided by AI tools. You are advised to conduct further research beyond simply asking questions of an AI tool, generating computer code, or creating images and consult with your course materials, library resources, or educator if you don't understand something or require further assistance.
Using AI in the following ways is a breach of Academic Integrity Policy and may have serious consequences:
To help prove the authenticity and originality of your work, you should keep all draft versions of your work to show how your assessments were developed. These can be requested at any time during your program.
We want to support you to use AI tools legitimately and in a way that maintains your integrity and that of our academic community. If you have questions or if you are ever unsure, please speak with your Program or Course Coordinator.
RMIT Library has developed a guide to show you how to reference content generated by AI tools.
Contract cheating refers to the use of outsourced materials (ie assessments obtained from online sources, peers or ‘tutors’) submitted by students as their own work. The person submitting the work is being dishonest by representing it as their own.
Commercial cheating services, which are now illegal in Australia, target RMIT students on and around campus, and online.
These services offer to provide answers or complete an assessment for you, sometimes asking for payment. If you use these services, it’s considered contract cheating and is a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. There have also been examples of contract cheating services blackmailing Australian students.
For more information, please see the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) information on identifying, avoiding and reporting illegal cheating services.
If you have any concerns or questions about contract cheating, please email student.conduct@rmit.edu.au.
Our support services are here to help you achieve your study and personal goals. If you're feeling stressed about study, we can help.
RUSU offers free and confidential support for students who have been charged with academic misconduct.
If you'd like to talk to someone about academic integrity or misconduct, contact the Student Conduct Secretariat for a confidential discussion.
Email: student.conduct@rmit.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9925 8965
If you're an RMIT Vietnam student, contact: studentconduct@rmit.edu.vn
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.