Arabic version: سجلات «تشات جي بي تي» محور قضية بيانات محاكم نيو ساوث ويلز
According to ABC News, prosecutors allege Sydney man Christopher John Duff used generative AI to create computer code that bulk-downloaded restricted documents from a NSW courts online registry, then sought legal advice from ChatGPT. Duff, 40, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of accessing restricted data held in a computer.
The charges followed a Department of Communities and Justice discovery of a data breach in March last year. Police previously said cybercrime detectives investigated alleged unauthorised access to 8,769 restricted documents on the department’s online registry between January and March 2025. The registry is accessible to court users with an authorised login.
At Downing Centre Local Court, police prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Maldigri said the allegation centred on ChatGPT being used to code and employ Python “scraper” scripts. He described such code as a means of bypassing a website’s usual navigation process to obtain data a user was not authorised to access. The court heard Duff was helping a friend involved in complex bankruptcy proceedings.
Prosecutors intend to rely on ChatGPT conversations and forensic expert testimony in a case believed to be among the first of its kind in Australia. Maldigri said Duff allegedly asked the platform for legal advice after his registry login was shut down, including enquiries about what police might do. Defence counsel Daniel McMahon said the prosecution must prove actual knowledge that access was unauthorised, rather than recklessness. He also said the conversations, if made by Duff, suggested a later “realisation”.
A three-day hearing stalled because of the volume of material, with McMahon estimating proposed exhibits could exceed 10,000 pages. The case was adjourned for a fortnight while a longer hearing may be scheduled. Duff was granted bail in April last year, subject to conditions including surrendering his passport and using only one phone with call and text functions.
