NSW Online Registry: prosecutors say ChatGPT wrote scraper for ~8,769 restricted court docs
ABC News (10 September 2026) reports a Downing Centre Local Court hearing for Christopher John Duff, 40, who has pleaded not guilty to four counts of accessing restricted data held in a computer. NSW Department of Communities and Justice discovered a breach of the NSW Online Registry (court-user login portal) in March 2025; police say cybercrime detectives investigated alleged unauthorised access to 8,769 restricted documents between January and March 2025 (AVOs, details of minors, and other DCJ forms). Prosecutors allege Duff used ChatGPT to create Python scraper-style scripts for bulk download, then sought legal advice and “coaching” from ChatGPT after his registry login was shut down and before charge — and intend to rely on ChatGPT conversation records plus forensic testimony in what is described as among the first such Australian cases. Hearing stalled on volume (~10,000+ pages of proposed exhibits). Charged April 2025 after a search warrant in Sydney’s east; on bail. Allegations unproven. Primary: ABC; wire: ACS Information Age (10 Sep).
- Product
- NSW Online Registry (Department of Communities and Justice)
- Versions
- n/a (alleged authorised-login misuse / scraper; not a product CVE)
- Exploited in Australia?
- yes
- Patch to
- n/a (criminal matter); operators: rate-limit/monitor bulk registry export, revoke credentials on anomaly, treat gen-AI chat logs as potential evidence
Primary: ABC News — Duff / NSW Online Registry ChatGPT hearing (10 Sep 2026) · ACS Information Age (10 Sep 2026)