SA Health has confirmed a ninth staff member is under investigation for allegedly accessing the private medical records of AFL legend Tony Modra without authorisation, widening a privacy probe that began last month.

The latest admission follows an audit that identified an additional employee for potential inappropriate access of a patient record. Last month, SA Health said three staff were under formal investigation while a further five were being assessed over whether their access was appropriate. That audit identified eight staff in total. The new addition brings the count to nine. ABC News

SA Health has previously apologised to Modra's family over the alleged breaches. The agency has said any staff member who accessed information inappropriately may face disciplinary processes, which can include termination of employment.

South Australia's Premier has also commented publicly on the growing probe, as the health department confirmed the additional staff member under investigation. Adelaide Now

Modra, one of South Australian football's most beloved figures, was seriously injured in a truck crash at Back Valley, near Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu Peninsula, in June 2026. Police attended the scene. He later underwent facial surgery. Last month he posted a recovery update on social media, saying he was "getting out and about" and praising the medical staff involved in his treatment. ABC News

The Modra case is not an isolated incident in South Australia's hospital system. In 2016, 13 hospital staff were sanctioned after being caught snooping on the medical records of Cy Walsh, who was charged with the stabbing murder of his father, then-Crows coach Phil Walsh, before being found not guilty by reason of mental incompetence. In 2024, an SA Health investigation found 18 staff engaged in misconduct or inappropriately accessed the records of a patient understood to be Charlie Stevens, the late son of SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens. ABC News

What gives this story its weight is the pattern. Three high-profile cases in a decade, each involving hospital staff accessing records they had no clinical reason to open. For a public figure like Modra, whose name alone draws attention, the risk of unauthorised access is clear. For ordinary patients, the same risk exists without the spotlight.

Modra played 132 AFL games across Adelaide and Fremantle, kicking 293 goals and winning the Crows' best-and-fairest in 1993 — the golden-hair, full-frontal spearhead of an era that put South Australian football on the national map. His recovery from the crash has drawn support from across the football community.

SA Health's investigation remains ongoing.