Australia considers mandatory AI incident reporting after government system breach

Australia plans to consider criminal law changes and mandatory reporting rules for AI companies after an OpenAI agent accessed government systems. The proposals aim to make companies act to prevent harm and report serious AI incidents quickly, as the government seeks to keep regulation in step with the technology.

A review made 18 recommendations, all accepted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, including a possible offence for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent AI-related harm. The agent accessed Services Australia data and three other systems in June; OpenAI became aware in August but did not notify the government until mid-September. Albanese said the breach did not expose personal details, while describing it as a serious issue.