![\"Achol](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790218454_276_Achol_Arok,_L.png\")
Achol Arok<\/p>\nMinns says OpenAI agent infiltrated NSW crime data agency BoscarAchol Arok<\/p>\n
NSW premier Chris Minns says OpenAI agents may have also accessed information held by the state\u2019s Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Boscar).<\/p>\n
Minns said he was first alerted to the incident after a call from the PM.<\/p>\n
double quotation markThe prime minister called me late last night in Sydney, it was early morning in New York, and he told me about this breach and his real concerns as it relates to safety and security of information held by government agencies, particularly the circumstances relating to it.<\/p>\n
Minns described the incident as \u201ca big concern for us in New South Wales\u201d.<\/p>\n
double quotation markWe do believe there\u2019s been access to a New South Wales government agency as well.<\/p>\n
Not private information, not personal information, but a similar example of what is generalised information but was not released to the public, being accessed by an open AI agent.<\/p>\n
Minns said an investigation into the incident and the government\u2019s cyber-security vulnerabilities will be launched.<\/p>\n
double quotation markWe need to and will examine its impact, both the technology and the vulnerabilities in our confidential information.<\/p>\n
New South Wales will be working with commonwealth intelligence agencies to get to the bottom of it, firstly to identify how this happened and secondly to breach the gap so that it doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.13 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Interest rate rise next week only a little less likely after jobless rise<\/p>\n Financial markets are pricing in a greater (but still small) chance the Reserve Bank might leave interest rates on hold after a surprise rise in unemployment.<\/p>\n As we reported earlier, an unexpectedly large number of people started looking for work, pushing up the jobless rate.<\/p>\n The Australian dollar has fallen from US70.36 cents to 70.22, as traders account for the lower chance of an interest rate rise here. Bond markets also dropped a little, predicting lower interest rates in future.<\/p>\n Sharemarkets are up, with the benchmark ASX200 up from 8,656 points to 8,691.3 points, still down from yesterday.<\/p>\n The RBA is still more likely to raise rates than not when its board meets next Tuesday, in part because the labour market is still very strong. Since the end of last year, Australia has added 110,000 full-time jobs and 66,700 more part-time jobs. The workforce now includes a record 14,836,000 people.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.51 EDT<\/p>\n Surprise rise in unemployment to 4.6% The unemployment rate has unexpectedly risen to 4.6%, the highest since November 2021, August data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.<\/p>\n The jobless rate rose both in seasonally adjusted and trend terms, from 4.5% in July.<\/p>\n The rise was mostly due to more people looking for jobs, with an extra 28,000 unemployed Australians in August. An extra 46,000 people took on part-time jobs but 6,000 full-time jobs disappeared.<\/p>\n Markets were expecting a much smaller change in the number of people employed and looking for work, predicting a steady 4.5% unemployment rate.<\/p>\n The higher jobless rate is unlikely to stop the Reserve Bank from raising interest rates next Tuesday. The RBA governor, Michele Bullock, said on Tuesday she thought the jobs market was still tight while unemployment was near 4.5%, adding:<\/p>\n double quotation markI think between 4.5 and 5 will probably take enough heat out of the labour market that it\u2019ll ease pressure on inflation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.30 EDT<\/p>\n Marles says no individual medical data accessed by Open AI agent<\/p>\n Government services minister, Katy Gallagher, said the AI model accessed only publicly available, aggregated information from the Medicare Statistics Reporting Service Portal.<\/p>\n double quotation markOn the website that it accessed, the Medicare Statistics Reporting Service Portal is a standalone website. It\u2019s public\u2013facing, and it is not in any way related to Medicare in terms of claims, payments, and processing individual information.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a completely different system, and the two shouldn\u2019t be conflated. It\u2019s a public website. It\u2019s most often used by researchers and academics, who get that aggregated data about benefits statistics, prescribing statistics, to use in their own research.<\/p>\n Deputy prime minister Richard Marles said the incident was \u201cvery serious\u201d, but its impact was \u201crelatively minor\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe are talking about aggregated medical statistics. No individual\u2019s medical data was accessed here. The system itself has not been in any way compromised. The impact of this event is minor, but it is a very serious incident because, in an unintended way, an AI agent has entered into an Australian government website in a way which is unauthorised.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.15 EDT<\/p>\n Minns says OpenAI agent infiltrated NSW crime data agency Boscar NSW premier Chris Minns says OpenAI agents may have also accessed information held by the state\u2019s Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Boscar).<\/p>\n Minns said he was first alerted to the incident after a call from the PM.<\/p>\n double quotation markThe prime minister called me late last night in Sydney, it was early morning in New York, and he told me about this breach and his real concerns as it relates to safety and security of information held by government agencies, particularly the circumstances relating to it.<\/p>\n Minns described the incident as \u201ca big concern for us in New South Wales\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe do believe there\u2019s been access to a New South Wales government agency as well.<\/p>\n Not private information, not personal information, but a similar example of what is generalised information but was not released to the public, being accessed by an open AI agent.<\/p>\n Minns said an investigation into the incident and the government\u2019s cyber-security vulnerabilities will be launched.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe need to and will examine its impact, both the technology and the vulnerabilities in our confidential information.<\/p>\n New South Wales will be working with commonwealth intelligence agencies to get to the bottom of it, firstly to identify how this happened and secondly to breach the gap so that it doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.13 EDT<\/p>\n Marles says many ministers have known of hack \u2018less than a week\u2019<\/p>\n Marles is getting pressed on the timeline surrounding the breach and when Australians were told, saying many government ministers have only known about the hack for a \u201cless than a week\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markMaking this public has its own consequences. We needed to do it with a certain amount of information at hand.<\/p>\n The incident itself is obviously very serious. It\u2019s very serious that we\u2019ve got an AI agent having gained unauthorised access into an Australian website. Now, the moment that we felt that we were in a position to have that information at hand and to responsibly inform the Australian public, we have.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.55 EDT<\/p>\n Marles \u2018grateful\u2019 to OpenAI for engaging after Medicare hack<\/p>\n Richard Marles, the acting prime minister, is speaking in Sydney about the OpenAI hack. He said the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet will institute a taskforce to look at the incident and examine Australia\u2019s posture with respect to cyber threats.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will look at the security of government networks, it will look at the legal arrangements that we have in place in respect of an incident of this kind,\u201d Marles said.<\/p>\n double quotation markI want to say and acknowledge that OpenAI have been working with us very cooperatively here. They have clearly notified us of this and engagement with them has been critical to understanding what has occurred. We are grateful for that. That said, what has occurred here is obviously completely unacceptable.<\/p>\n All of this, I think, we can take as a warning in relation to the development of AI itself. It is so important that this technology, which represents such an enormous opportunity for humanity, is nevertheless being developed in a way where the guardrails, the safeguards, are well ahead of the capability itself.<\/p>\n Richard Marles. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAP<\/p>\n The government services minister, Katy Gallagher, said she has requested a fast-tracking of funds earmarked in the federal budget to safeguard Services Australia and other government websites.<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019ve also asked whether the $160 million we had in the last budget to do a cyber uplift of Services Australia essential infrastructure, can or should be accelerated.<\/p>\n And also that legacy public\u2013facing websites, I\u2019ve asked that the information there be moved to data.gov.au, or put on alternative existing secure platforms, or they get decommissioned. This is a legacy system. It dates back decades.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.50 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018We want big tech to take accountability,\u2019 Wells says after Medicare hack<\/p>\n Anika Wells, the federal communications minister, just spoke in Brisbane. She was asked about OpenAI, and had this to say:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe want big tech to take accountability. We want an unregulated industry to implement some basic safety standards here on Australian shores, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ll be trying to do when I introduce the digital duty of care in October.<\/p>\n Wells said an investigation into the matter is ongoing, confirming the Australian Signals Directorate is still looking into whether there had been any criminal breaches here, and if so, if there should be repercussions.<\/p>\n Anika Wells. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.37 EDT<\/p>\n Greens call for US ambassador to be grilled over Medicare hack<\/p>\n The Greens have called the OpenAI incident \u201ca serious attack on Australia\u2019s sovereign interests\u201d.<\/p>\n The acting Greens leader, Mehreen Faruqi, has called for the new US ambassador, David Brat, to be called in by the government over the incident revealed this morning.<\/p>\n \u201cThis breach by a foreign AI company on an Australian government database is deeply alarming and brings home the risks that these out of control tech corporations pose. The fact that the government did not even know it happened is disturbing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n double quotation markThese billion dollar corporations will not take taskforce investigations or statements seriously. They will respond to strength. Now is the time for the prime minister to fight for Australia\u2019s interests and implement a moratorium on data centres in Australia until we have regulations protecting people and the country.<\/p>\n If hacking Medicare and taking two months to alert the government doesn\u2019t push Labor to treat AI with the seriousness it deserves, what will?<\/p>\n Mehreen Faruqi. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.00 EDT<\/p>\n Pocock says OpenAI hack \u2018very concerning but ultimately unsurprising\u2019<\/p>\n Independent senator David Pocock put out a statement this morning, saying the breach highlights \u201chow slow the Australian Government has been to implement appropriate safeguards for AI in high risk settings\u201d. He went on:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis begs the question about why the Albanese government shelved plans for a National AI Safety Act and why they are so slow to develop legislation to implement new standards.<\/p>\n We have these companies warning of existential threat and hacking critical government infrastructure and the Labor government\u2019s response is \u201cWe\u2019ll get to that next year\u201d.<\/p>\n Pocock said there remained a \u201cbig question\u201d as well about why \u201cwe aren\u2019t holding these big tech companies liable for this kind of data breach\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markIf it was an Australian who hacked the system they\u2019d likely be heading for jail, yet there\u2019s no accountability for AI companies developing this technology.<\/p>\n David Pocock. Photograph: Sarah Wilson\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.24 EDT<\/p>\n Groceries up 7% across Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Aldi, Choice says<\/p>\n Groceries have become more expensive at all four of Australia\u2019s major supermarket chains, with the average price of a basket of essentials increasing by 7% between March and June, new analysis has found.<\/p>\n The consumer advocacy group Choice on Thursday released its 10th quarterly government-funded survey of supermarket prices, which it assessed by filling a basket with eight common grocery items at 104 different stores in June.<\/p>\n The basket \u2013 containing milk, royal gala apples, strawberries, bananas, potatoes, avocado, basmati rice and beef mince \u2013 increased in price by 7% across Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, and IGA since Choice\u2019s last survey in March.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.00 EDT<\/p>\n Taylor says Labor needs to do more explaining after OpenAI breach<\/p>\n The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said the OpenAI breach amounted to a \u201cserous warning\u201d about online security in the age of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Taylor spoke to 4BC this morning, criticising the Albanese government for not doing enough to protect system security in the age of AI. He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markA lot of our personal information is on those systems. So the government needs to explain when it first became aware of the breach, exactly what information was accessed, what vulnerability was exploited, and how they\u2019re closing it \u2026<\/p>\n This is a government and a set of ministers who are more obsessed in talking about their own power, looking in the mirror as we see in the papers over the last couple of days talking about how powerful they are, rather than getting on with focusing on the issues that matter to Australians. Keeping Australians safe is right at the top of the list.<\/p>\n Angus Taylor. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.00 EDT<\/p>\n Victorian premier says he spoke to PM overnight about OpenAI breach<\/p>\n Ben Carroll says the prime minister informed him of the OpenAI hack of Medicare overnight. Asked whether any Victorian health records were compromised, he says:<\/p>\n double quotation mark[We are] working through this matter, and information is coming to hand literally as we speak. I\u2019ll have more to say on this later \u2026 What he [the prime minister] has been able to assure me, though, his initial advice is there has been no compromise of personal private information, but we are stressing this is early days in the investigation<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.21 EDT<\/p>\n Letting dogs in pubs means \u2018moving with the times\u2019, Victorian premier says<\/p>\n The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, held a press conference at the London Tavern in Richmond this morning to announce his election commitment to allow dogs in pubs, and allow venues to stay open until 3am.<\/p>\n He says:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe\u2019re going to move with the times. All over Europe, pubs have been pet friendly for years \u2013 decades, in fact. And as we\u2019ve just seen, when you come to a pub that\u2019s pet friendly, everyone benefits. So we are now going to allow our pubs to allow pets such as dogs.<\/p>\n The final decision will be the pub, but we want our pubs to be family friendly, where everyone can come enjoy the company. And we also know what\u2019s been shown in Europe is that pubs that are pet friendly and allow dogs benefit everyone. The economy grows; they become more family friendly, and everyone has a great time.<\/p>\n Ben Carroll meeting dogs at a press conference at the London Tavern in Richmond. Photograph: Bertin Huynh\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.53 EDT<\/p>\n OpenAI notified government of Medicare breach via \u2018email sent to public mailbox\u2019<\/p>\n Albanese had some more to say about the OpenAI breach this morning \u2026<\/p>\n The prime minister told reporters this morning a bit more about the OpenAI breach, saying the notification from the company was sent to a public mailbox when it ultimately came through:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt was that it took until 10 September before there was any notification at all [from OpenAI]. And the notification was an email sent to just the public mailbox.<\/p>\n As I\u2019ve said, part of the investigation will be whether there are any issues that need to be referred to the Australian Federal Police.<\/p>\n He said the government is aware of three other systems that may have been impacted, the Australian Institute of Health<\/a> and Welfare, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and the Victorian Department of Health.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.21 EDT<\/p>\n A timeline of the OpenAI breach of Medicare data<\/p>\n An OpenAI models accessed private Medicare data in June, but the company said it did not become aware of the activity until August during an ongoing review of the model\u2019s activity.<\/p>\n Services Australia was notified weeks later, on 10 September, after OpenAI says it spent the intervening time investigating how and what was accessed.<\/p>\n OpenAI said its review found \u201cno evidence of patient records being accessed\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe information accessed included aggregate health statistics and internal file names,\u201d the company said. \u201cOur overall review is ongoing, and we remain committed to transparency about these issues and to sharing what we learn as that work continues.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.44 EDT<\/p>\n Victoria to allow dogs in pubs \u2013 if Labor wins the state election<\/p>\n Dogs would be allowed inside pubs across Victoria if Labor wins the state election in November, the Carroll government has announced.<\/p>\n Labor vowed to amend the Food Act 1984 to overturn the ban on dogs in venues and said consultation would following regarding front bars, dining rooms, and whether food could be served.<\/p>\n double quotation markPublicans decide the music, the menu and the crowd. They should get to decide whether dogs are allowed inside.<\/p>\n Victorian Labor said it would also allow pubs to open until 3am under an additional election promise.<\/p>\n Noting an \u201can onerous process to trade past 1am\u201d the government said it would legislate the \u201cautomatic right\u201d to stay open until 3am.<\/p>\n Woody the dog at the Lord Gladstone in Chippendale, Sydney. Dogs would be allowed in Victorian pubs under a Labor election promise. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.33 EDT<\/p>\n Marles says Australia will investigate \u2018legal situation\u2019 around OpenAI Medicare breach<\/p>\n Richard Marles, the acting prime minister, said the government is \u201cworking through\u201d if the OpenAI breach would amount to an offence and result in a penalty.<\/p>\n He told RN earlier:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe will look at what is the legal situation in respect of this and what it means to have gained an unauthorised access, albeit in an unintended way.<\/p>\n So that is one of the questions that we\u2019re continuing to investigate through the taskforce.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.26 EDT<\/p>\n OpenAI Medicare breach \u2018is a warning\u2019, Marles says<\/p>\n Marles said the information accessed was at the \u201clower end of sensitivity\u201d and the website with the data had relatively low levels of security when compared with anything to do with national security.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe keep our most important national security information behind a fortress. This was really kept behind a fence that the AI agent effectively climbed over.<\/p>\n But he said the incident reflected the urgent need to learn \u201call the lessons we can\u201d and secure the country\u2019s information.<\/p>\n double quotation markI mean, this is a warning about the fact that artificial intelligence, which is a technology that has huge opportunity to benefit humanity, has to be developed with enormous care. There have to be guardrails and safety measures in place which are way ahead of the capability which is being developed.<\/p>\n We do need to have guardrails in place. We do need to be developing this technology with extreme care. And I think that\u2019s the point that we should take from this incident.<\/p>\n![\"Luca](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790218455_544_Luca_Ittimani.png\")
Luca Ittimani<\/p>\nLuca Ittimani<\/p>\nAchol Arok<\/p>\nAchol Arok<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790218455_898_Tom_McIlroy.png\")
Tom McIlroy<\/p>\n![\"Catie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790218456_747_Caite_McLeod.png\")
Catie McLeod<\/p>\n![\"Benita](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790218457_648_Benita_Kolovos.png\")
Benita Kolovos<\/p>\nBenita Kolovos<\/p>\n