The Victorian Government is overhauling the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) to provide full confidence to Victorian students, families and schools.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll has announced that the government will accept all the recommendations of the first stage of the root-and-branch review into the VCAA conducted by Dr Yehudi Blacher and will appoint a new CEO and interim board to lead the VCAA.
Mr Andrew Smith will commence as VCAA CEO from 1 June 2025. Mr Smith is currently the CEO of Education Services Australia and has a wealth of knowledge of the education sector, starting his career as a teacher and school leader in the Victorian government school system.
Stage One of Dr Yehudi Blacher’s report into the 2024 VCE exam errors determined the root causes of the unintentional disclosure of examination content. The government has accepted all recommendations and is acting swiftly to deliver them.
In line with those recommendations, the government has reconstituted the VCAA board and instated an interim Board that will oversee the VCAA for the rest of 2025.
The interim Board includes Mr Tony Bates, Acting Secretary of the Department of Education, Professor Elizabeth Labone, CEO of the Victorian Catholic Education Authority, Ms Rachel Holthouse, CEO of Independent Schools Victoria and Ms Jane Brockington, an independent member who is a risk and audit specialist.
Mr Smith and the interim Board will oversee the implementation of the Blacher Review’s other recommendations, including increasing accountability and risk management for the exam development and publication process end-to-end, and stopping the publication of cover pages.
This work will be supported by the Independent Monitor Ms Margaret Crawford, who was appointed late last year to oversee all aspects of the preparation of the 2025 exams.
The government is already taking steps to make the necessary changes at the VCAA to implement seven of the recommendations for this year’s exam period. The government will also work towards piloting the development of an examination repository for select subjects.
The second stage of Dr Blacher’s review is a comprehensive review of the VCAA’s structure, operations, culture and capability.
Stage One of the Blacher Review is available at www.vic.gov.au/blacher-review-vcaa.
“I’d like to thank Dr Blacher and his team for their report, which we are getting to work on implementing immediately,” Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Mr Ben Carroll said.
“These changes, along with the leadership of new CEO Andrew Smith, are laying the foundations for a much stronger and more accountable VCAA, so students, families and schools can have full confidence in VCE exams going forward.”
Dr Blacher said he and Ms Crawford are confident that the implementation of these recommendations will minimise the likelihood of the problems of 2024 recurring in 2025.
