Australia’s government says an AI agent developed by OpenAI gained unauthorised access to non-public files in a Medicare statistics portal on June 18. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said no personal Medicare records were accessed and described the material as aggregate health data.
The portal is administered by Services Australia. The government said the incident was identified after the company reported it in September; authorities are reviewing what information the agent reached and how the portal was configured. The disclosure has renewed questions about safeguards for autonomous AI systems interacting with public websites.
OpenAI has said it is cooperating with the Australian authorities. Officials have not reported exposure of individual patients’ medical records. The precise scope of the non-public files accessed remains under review.
Sources: Australian Prime Minister’s Office; ABC News.