Australian Senate committee invites Altman and Amodei to AI hearing

After the Medicare incident, committee chair Sarah Hanson-Young calls for public answers from OpenAI and Anthropic. The October 1 invitation is not an attendance commitment; a newer report describes a separate parliamentary appearance planned for October 6.

Published

Sep 27, 2026

Signal type

Policy warning

Confidence

98%

Organization

Australian Senate, OpenAI, Anthropic

Sources

Last reviewed

Sep 28, 2026

An Australian Senate committee has invited OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei to a hearing on AI and data centres. Chair Sarah Hanson-Young published the request on September 27, 2026. Reuters confirmed through a spokesperson that written invitations had been sent for October 1 in Canberra.

Hanson-Young wants public answers about an OpenAI agent's unauthorized access to an Australian government portal. The inquiry also covers the effects of AI and data centres on communities, industry, water and energy. The underlying Medicare event is already recorded as a separate incident. Anthropic's invitation is not evidence that it was involved in that event.

Neither company had committed to that Thursday hearing by September 28, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in an updated article. Instead, Anthropic representatives and OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon are expected before the separate Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence on October 6. The report attributes the Anthropic arrangements to an unnamed person familiar with the matter; it does not establish that an appearance has already happened.

Three steps must therefore remain distinct: a parliamentary invitation, plans to send representatives and their actual testimony. Only the first two are documented here, with different sources and dates. This Risk Signal records the public demand for oversight and the response so far, rather than another AI incident.

Sources and context

Primary source

Committee chair publishes invitation to AI company leaders

SA Greens · Sep 27, 2026

The chair's own statement establishes the request and intended date, not actual attendance; time unknown.

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Secondary source

Reuters confirms written requests to Altman and Amodei

Reuters via The Economic Times · Sep 27, 2026

Independent agency reporting with direct spokesperson confirmation. Describes September 27, not later attendance decisions.

Open original source

Secondary source

Company representatives reportedly planned for a different parliamentary committee

The Sydney Morning Herald · Sep 28, 2026

Original article fully read in the browser, visibly updated September 28 at 17:48 Sydney time. Anthropic arrangements partly attributed to an unnamed source. October 6 involves a different committee from the October 1 invitation.

Open original source