The personal data of up to 3000 flood victims in NSW has been exposed after it was uploaded to ChatGPT.

In a statement released this morning, the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) confirmed personal data, including names and addresses, phone numbers and other personal and health information, was uploaded to the platform by a former contractor of the RA.

The victims of the breach applied for the Northern Rivers Resilient Homes Program in the aftermath of the 2022 floods in northern NSW.

Whilst the RA insist there is no evidence the data has been made public, it admits it will take some time to verify this, as the data was shared in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with 12,000 rows of information.

“The breach occurred when a former contractor of the RA uploaded data containing personal information to an unsecured AI tool which was not authorised by the department,” the RA said.

“The process is highly complex and time consuming and we acknowledge that it has taken time to notify people.”

The RA believes forensic examination of the issue will be completed in the coming days, offering an insight into the extent of the breach and what specific data could have been exposed.

They also say there is currently no evidence that any of the uploaded data has been accessed by a third party.

“We understand this news is concerning and we are deeply sorry for the distress it may cause for those who have engaged with the program,” the RA said.

“We know people will want to know exactly what has been shared and we are doing all we can to get that information to them as soon as possible.”