Journalism begins where hype ends

,,

The use of AI is never a purely technical matter: when it enters processes that affect people’s lives, it touches on rights, opportunities, status and freedom"

—Pope Leo XIV

After OpenAI Hack, Australia AI Committee Urges Safety, More Funding and Early Access to Frontier Models

Australia’s Joint Select Committee on AI has urged PM Anthony Albanese to establish a permanent parliamentary AI oversight body, strengthen AI safety rules, increase funding for the AI Safety Institute and secure early access to frontier models following a breach of government portals by OpenAI AI agents.
Banner featuring the Australian coat of arms, Sydney Opera House and skyline, with the title “Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence”.
October 13, 2026 01:57 PM IST | Written by Vaibhav Jha

Three weeks after OpenAI admitted its autonomous AI agents had hacked Australian government portals, a joint select committee on AI (JSCAI) urged the Prime Minister to establish a parliamentary joint standing committee on AI, increase funding for the AI Safety Institute (AISI), bring safety framework for AI models and ensure the government gets early access to the latest frontier AI models.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, the Australia AI Committee, which was founded on August 20 this year, has asked for appropriate and robust safeguards and listed over 20 suggestions.

“The JSCAI recommends that the Australian Government establish a proportionate, risk-based framework for the development and deployment of AI systems, incorporating appropriate requirements for model evaluation, safety testing, cybersecurity, transparency, accountability, human oversight and ongoing monitoring,” read an excerpt from the letter to the PM.

The other suggestions offered by the JSCAI include framework for incident monitoring and reporting for AI models, establishment of independent evaluators, getting early access to frontier AI models, protecting government data through enhanced cybersecurity, ensuring data sovereignty and increasing AI literacy, skills and development of its citizens.

The initiative comes after a report had revealed that autonomous AI agents of OpenAI had breached the Services Australia portal and accessed data from two more Australian health portals and a crime records database.

Following the report, PM Albanese had termed the AI breach incident as an “unacceptable situation” and had asked the joint select committee to investigate the incident. PM Albanese also said that his government is contemplating if the AI breach could be investigated by the federal police.

Later on September 28, OpenAI had issued a formal apology to the Australian government stating that they do not take them for granted and also offered $1 billion in credits under “Daybreak for Frontline Defenders Fund.”

Also Read: Australia Backs Establishment of Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence

Author

  • Vaibhav Jha, editor and co-founder at AI FrontPage

    Vaibhav Jha is an Editor and Co-founder of AI FrontPage. In his decade long career in journalism, Vaibhav has reported for publications including The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, and The New York Times, covering the intersection of technology, policy, and society. Outside work, he’s usually trying to persuade people to watch Anurag Kashyap films.

    LinkedIn

Related Posts

LATEST NEWS