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    Academic Integrity and Student Conduct Policy

    Policy name ​​Academic Integrity and Student Conduct Policy 
    Policy number ACA013
    Date approved 11 February 2026
    Approving body Academic Board
    Responsible officer Dean (Higher Education) and Provost (VET)
    Implementation officer Academic Integrity and Progress Committee Chair
    Next review date June 2029
    Related policies Assessment Policy

    Student Grievance Policy Academic and Non-Academic Matters

    Academic Progress and Review Policy

    1. Purpose of this policy

    The purpose of this policy is to uphold the values of the Cairnmillar Institute (the Institute) of respect, integrity, compassion, collaboration, and professionalism.

    This policy frames expected behaviours of staff and students that align with these core values.

    Identified in this policy is the Institute’s expectations for:

    • Academic integrity
    • An equitable and inclusive study and work environment
    • Respect for the differences in cultural norms, expectations and values which may be practised by those from diverse backgrounds
    • Personal integrity suited to professionals in training.

    2. Scope

    This policy applies to staff and students of the Institute in the carriage of activities in relation to matters of integrity and conduct both inside and outside of the Institute.

    3. Policy

    3.1 The Institute will uphold its core values and commitment to a culture of integrity and good conduct by:

    1. Ensuring staff and students are provided with appropriate training on issues of integrity
    2. Informing students of what constitutes breaches of academic integrity
    3. Providing an environment that encourages equity and respect for all and that is free from all forms of discrimination and harassment
    4. Informing students of what constitutes good conduct and breaches of good conduct (general misconduct)
    5. Minimising opportunities for breaches of integrity to occur
    6. Ensuring integrity is upheld through course design and assessment standards
    7. Ensuring breaches of academic integrity and good conduct are dealt with fairly and in a timely manner

    3.2 The Institute will have a Student Code of Conduct, which will:

    1. Highlight the expectations for good conduct
    2. Be reviewed by the Dean or Provost at the end of each calendar year
    3. Be provided to students who will, at the commencement of a course of study, be required to sign a statement of agreement to abide by the Student Code of Conduct.

    4. Responsibilities

    4.1 Staff will:

    1. Comply with this policy
    2. Be aware of their integrity and good conduct responsibilities
    3. Demonstrate integrity and good conduct to students and other staff
    4. Ensure assessments are designed in accordance with integrity guidelines
    5. Be familiar with and apply the academic integrity resources and procedures provided by the Institute including the similarity-detection system, Turnitin
    6. Provide students with appropriate advice and resources to foster sound academic integrity practices
    7. If they reasonably believe a student has engaged in an act of academic misconduct, report it to a responsible officer.

    4.2 Students will:

    1. Comply with this policy.
    2. Complete the compulsory Academic Integrity Module on commencing their studies. Students will not be eligible to receive feedback on assessment tasks until the Academic Integrity Module has been completed.
    3. Be aware of their integrity responsibilities
    4. Only submit work for assessment that is their own
    5. Submit all text-based assignments through the similarity-detection system provided by the Institute (Turnitin). Students may use the system as a check before final submission.
    6. Take reasonable steps to ensure their work is not copied by others
    7. Act in a manner that is free from all forms of discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment
    8. Complete the academic integrity declaration using the method provided for the assessment task (e.g., assignment cover sheet, online form, or other designated mechanism).
    9. Specify exactly how and when AI was used in the provided textbox (e.g., “Used ChatGPT to suggest alternative sentence structures in introduction paragraph”)
    10. Ensure your use complies with the Unit Coordinator’s instructions and does not compromise academic integrity

    5. Breaches of Academic Integrity

    5.1 The Institute expects staff and students to comply with this policy; however, there may be instances of failure to adhere to the policy. These breaches include:

    Plagiarism is the use of another person’s words, ideas, concepts or research findings without appropriate acknowledgement.
    Collusion is when more than one person works together to submit any work as if it were authored by an individual.
    Cheating is dishonest behaviour undertaken to gain an unfair advantage over others. This includes, but is not limited to:

    • the unauthorised use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools or systems to generate or substantially modify academic work;
    • the failure to disclose AI assistance when required by assessment conditions; or
    • the unauthorised engagement of, or provision of work to, a third party to complete, modify, or contribute to academic work on a student’s behalf.
    Fabrication is the falsification or invention of data, sources, citations, or materials in academic work. This includes the creation or use of false or AI-generated (“hallucinated”) references, data, or materials that do not exist or misrepresent the original source.

    6. General Misconduct

    6.1 Failure to adhere to policy on good conduct include the following:

    Sexual harassment Is any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour, which makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated
    Discrimination is disadvantaging a person because of their race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.
    Bullying is verbal, physical, social or psychological abuse of any person or group of people in the educational setting (including placement settings)
    Fraud is when a person seeks unfair advantage through dishonest behaviour by providing false or altered information.
    Refusal to accept legitimate direction from academic staff and supervisors when relevant is when an enrolled student fails to follow the instructions given by a staff member, or the manager or principal of an agency where a student is placed.
    Breaches of Institute Policies Breaches of other Institute Policies can be considered under General Misconduct

    7. Resources and references

    Legislative and compliance framework relevant to the development of this policy:

    • Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015
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