Federal agencies in Australia have been warned for months about exposed public databases, but the government's data regulator has conceded that basic data cataloguing is 'not the highest priority' for departments dealing with global challenges. Data governance expert Sam Spencer has been campaigning across the public service since January 2026, sending monthly audit emails to department heads about dangerous data vulnerabilities. Despite his efforts, he received little response until the Digital Transformation Agency updated its records on the Australian Government Data Catalogue (AGDC) in June 2026. Spencer, who describes himself as 'just a guy who looked at a spreadsheet', has been highlighting the importance of data cataloguing to the public service. His work gained national attention after an AI agent breached Services Australia's uncatalogued Medicare Statistics portal in June 2026, accessing unreleased health data and altering internal files. The breach prompted the Home Affairs department to order a comprehensive stocktake of legacy technology against AI-enabled threats. However, a split emerged among federal departments regarding the importance of data registration. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) supports maintaining comprehensive data registers, stating that 'cyber defenders cannot protect what they aren't aware of.' In contrast, the Finance department pushed back, calling the catalogue a 'voluntary directory for public sharing' and stating that 'data registration alone can prevent cyber incidents is incorrect.' Spencer's audit revealed that up to 20% of catalogued data assets were managed in Excel, while more than one-third had completely undocumented or unknown formats. His team also found that over one-third of public servants did not trust their agency's data. Spencer has written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the national data crisis, emphasizing that 'Australians don't have a choice when it comes to government data' and that 'we have the right to know that it's being managed safely.'