A scathing report has found a culture of blame, fear and secrecy and leadership turbulence resulted in avoidable mistakes at Victoria’s state exam authority.

The review has called for a major reform after it found the authority suffers from a lack of leadership and a poor organisational culture.

Reviewer Dr Yehudi Blacher said he was left with a sentiment of “sadness and disappointment” over the issues, which could take up to three years to address.

The report took in submissions from 180 current and former VCAA staff members and was told the system operated under a “culture of blame” driven by “fear and secrecy”.

“Many decisions appear reactive, driven by fear of bad press rather than sound process…the VCAA’s culture is shifting – from an open, consultative organisation to one driven by fear, secrecy, and unchecked authority,” one submission read.

Blacher also closely looked into the 2024 error which allowed students to publicly view sensitive exam material, disclosing questions from 65 of the 116 VCE exams.

It resulted in the resignation of VCAA’s chief executive officer Kylie White and the axing of the entire VCAA board.

The bungle eroded public trust in the VCAA, Blacher said.

In 2023, an independent review into VCAA was also conducted after mistakes were found in maths and chemistry exams.

The same period was also marred by significant organisational turbulance.

The VCAA has had seven substansive and acting chief executives in a five-year period.

Only one was able to oversee more than one full examination cycle.

Many long-serving staff members have also retired or left recently, in turn highlighting the “fragility” of VCAA processes.

“Consequently, mistakes were made that might otherwise have been avoidable,” Blacher said.

The 65-page report made 11 key recommendations to the VCAA to address its deep-rooted cultural and organisational problems.

The first recommendation was to retain the VCAA as a statutory authority rather than absorbing it into the Education Department.

Blacher also recommended creating a sustainable budget, resetting leadership, applying artificial intelligence (AI) for some tasks and functions and strengthening accountability.

Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll ordered the “root and branch review” last year after the exam leak.

Carroll said the state government would accept all 11 of Blacher’s recommendations.

He said VCAA’s leadership would be immediately reset, excluding new chief executive Andrew Smith.

“Victorian students do deserve a world-class education and they should have every confidence in their VCE examinations,” Carroll said.

“This [week] we’re celebrating the AFL Grand Final, and this is like the students’ AFL Grand Final… it is so important we get it right.”

Carroll said the recommendations will make VCAA a “stronger” authority for Victorian students.

Smith told reporters today the VCAA would now focus efforts on 2025 exams to ensure nothing is done to put them at risk.

“I understand that students and schools feel they have been let down by the VCAA,” he said.

“We’re confident that this year’s exams will allow all students to be assessed fairly and equitably.”