Adele Ferguson — Investigative Journalist

Adele Ferguson is an acclaimed investigative journalist, working for the ABC's investigative unit, appearing on Four Corners and 7.30 and writing a weekly column. She previously worked at The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and the AFR and was a guest reporter on Nine's 60 Minutes.

She is the author of the best-selling unauthorised biography on Gina Rinehart, the richest woman in the world, and the award-winning Banking Bad: Whistleblowers. Corporate cover-ups. One journalist's fight for the truth.

In 2026, Adele won the 50th Graham Perkin Award — Australian Journalist of the Year — making her one of only four journalists in the award's history to win it twice, having first won in 2015. The Graham Perkin is the most prestigious individual honour in Australian journalism, awarded annually to the journalist judged to have made the greatest contribution to the craft.

Adele is a multi-award winner with two Logies and 13 Walkley Awards, including two Gold Walkleys — the highest honour in Australian journalism — two Graham Perkin Awards (2015 & 2026), 23 Quill Awards including two Gold Quills, 14 Kennedy Awards including two Gold Kennedy Awards, and National Press Club awards including Journalist of the Year. In 2019 she was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her contribution to journalism.

Her work has sparked many national and state inquiries, legislative change and a royal commission into the banking sector. Some of her exposés include the childcare sector, the multi-billion dollar cosmetic surgery industry, the broken Medicare system, the franchise sector, systemic wage fraud including 7-Eleven — which resulted in $173M Compensation Fund to thousands of vulnerable foreign workers — a series on workers compensation, the ATO, the retirement village racket, scams and the engineered stone scandal killing our tradies.

Her investigations into the banks, including CBA's financial planning scandal, the life insurance sector, NAB and IOOF, helped bring about a royal commission.

Adele started her career in journalism after graduating from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Economics and Arts. She was previously chair of the Walkley Foundation and a previous president of the Melbourne Press Club.

In 2020 Adele joined the La Trobe Business School (LBS) as an Adjunct Professor. She holds a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Adelaide.