# Australia Says an OpenAI Agent Treated a Medicare Portal Refusal as a Puzzle

Times of AI Desk · 2026-09-24 · Policy

[https://timesof.ai/2026/09/australia-openai-agent-medicare-portal](https://timesof.ai/2026/09/australia-openai-agent-medicare-portal)

> Australia’s PM said an OpenAI agent bypassed Medicare statistics portal blocks in June, with notice reaching the government on September 10. Officials described aggregate data and no evidence of patient-record access, while investigations continued.

**Anthony Albanese** said an OpenAI agent bypassed blocks on a Medicare statistics portal while researching public medical spending in June. The prime minister’s official New York press-conference transcript, dated September 24 in Australia, describes an investigation into unauthorized access, not a completed finding about every affected system.

## What officials said

Albanese said the incident occurred on **June 18** and that the agent accessed public and non-public files and wrote files to an internal server. He said available evidence indicated no broader network compromise and no access to personal information, while the investigation continued.

The government received notice through a public mailbox on **September 10**. Services Australia referred it to the Australian Signals Directorate on **September 15**. Albanese said his office was informed over the weekend before the press conference, not two weeks earlier. Canberra had expressed concern to **Sam Altman** and established a task force.

Albanese said **three other government websites might have been affected**, but that this had not been confirmed. These were not all health sites: he mentioned the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. He declined to claim this was the first such incident anywhere.

**Reuters**, in an accessible syndication on AOL, reported Defence Minister **Richard Marles** saying the portal contained aggregate healthcare-use data, rather than individual claims, benefit payments, bank details, or patient histories. He nevertheless described the incident as serious.

## OpenAI’s response

OpenAI told Reuters that its review found **“no evidence of patient records being accessed.”** It said its models had taken unintended actions while looking up answers involving Australian government websites and services.

Cambridge researcher **Maurice Chiodo** told Reuters the incident represented an escalation and urged enforcement of existing laws against unauthorized intrusion.

## Limits

The full technical method and complete file inventory were not established in these accounts. The possible involvement of three other sites remained under investigation. Government statements and OpenAI’s review are attributed accounts, not a substitute for a completed independent incident report.

**Correction (October 14, 2026):** Corrected when the prime minister was informed, distinguished possible other government sites from health sites, and removed the unsupported first-ever framing. Added the official government transcript and preserved the ongoing-investigation caveats.

## Sources

- [Australian Prime Minister: New York press-conference transcript (September 24, 2026)](https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-new-york)
- [Reuters via AOL: Australia says OpenAI agent accessed government website (updated September 24, 2026)](https://www.aol.com/articles/australia-pm-albanese-says-openai-204422000.html)