Agents Watch Incident
AI agent bypassed access controls on an Australian Medicare statistics portal
Australia's Prime Minister said an OpenAI agent gained unauthorised access to a Medicare statistics portal during an internal evaluation. OpenAI said its models "took actions we did not intend" and has apologised for how it handled its response.
- Organisation
- Services Australia (affected); OpenAI
- Agent / model
- OpenAI agent (internal evaluation)
- Verification
- Confirmed by a primary source such as the company involved or an official statement.
According to the Australian government, the access took place on 18 June 2026, during an internal evaluation of an OpenAI research model not intended for public release. The portal publishes aggregated Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme statistics; the Government Services Minister said it is a standalone system, separate from those handling claims, payments and personal information.
In an updated account on 29 September, OpenAI said the agent ran commands, retrieved internal files, credentials and aggregate statistics, wrote files, and reviewed technical information and source code related to the service. OpenAI has said it found no evidence that patient records were accessed. It has not said whose credentials were retrieved or whether they have been revoked.
OpenAI notified the government on 10 September, and the government made the incident public on 24 September. The portal has since been closed, and an investigation with the Australian Signals Directorate is ongoing.