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Investigations

Eight major investigations spanning corporate misconduct, worker exploitation, aged care failures, and patient harm. Stories that triggered Royal Commissions, changed Australian law, and held power to account.

2 Gold Walkleys

2014 & 2025

2 Graham Perkin Awards

2015 & 2026

57+ Awards

Across 8 investigations

10 Pinnacle Prizes

Gold & career honours

All Journalism Awards

8Major Investigations

5Walkley Awards

2Royal Commissions Triggered

$400M+Compensation Secured

Award Context

Prizes Won Across These Investigations

Full Awards Archive

6Gold Prizes2× Walkley · 2× Quill · 2× Kennedy

13Walkley AwardsIncl. 2 Gold Walkleys

23Quill AwardsIncl. 2 Gold Quills

14Kennedy AwardsIncl. 2 Gold Kennedys

2Logie Awards2014 & 2025

2Graham Perkin2015 & 2026

Pinnacle Prizes

6 Gold Awards — a record in Australian journalism

2014 Gold WalkleyBanking Bad 2014 Gold QuillBanking Bad 2014 Gold KennedyBanking Bad 2015 Gold Quill7-Eleven 2016 Gold Kennedy7-Eleven 2025 Gold WalkleyBetrayal of Trust

Featured Work

Childcare Investigations

Four Corners17 Mar 2025

Betrayal of Trust

3 Gold Prizes

Systemic failures in Australia's childcare sector

The most decorated journalism of 2025 — exposing shocking cases of child abuse, neglect, and injury in Australian childcare centres, and the systemic failures that allowed them.

1.4MChildren in childcare

Emergency regulatory reviews nationwide

ABC Four Corners & 7.30

Gold Walkley · Graham Perkin · 3 Walkleys · 2 Quills · Logie · Kennedy

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Pinnacle Awards

2025 Gold Walkley Award

2026 Graham Perkin — Australian Journalist of the Year (50th)

2026 Grant Hattam Quill — Investigative Journalism

Additional Recognition

2025 Walkley — TV/Video: Current Affairs Short

2025 Walkley — All Media: Investigative Journalism

2025 Walkley — TV/Video: Current Affairs Long

2025 Logie — Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report

2025 Kennedy — Outstanding Consumer Affairs

2026 Quill — Best Business Reporting (Affinity Exposed)

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Four CornersOct 2025

Hunting Ground

Part of

The crisis deepens — childcare failures continue

The follow-up investigation revealing that the childcare crisis had deepened rather than abated — despite the earlier exposure and promised reforms.

2025Follow-up broadcast

Follow-up to Betrayal of Trust

ABC Four Corners

Part of Gold Walkley series · Logie Award

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Pinnacle Awards

2025 Part of Gold Walkley series (Betrayal of Trust)

Additional Recognition

2025 Logie — Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report

View full awards context

Approach

How These Investigations Work

Months of Research

Each investigation draws on hundreds of documents, internal communications, and interviews with whistleblowers, victims, and industry insiders.

Cross-Platform Publication

Stories are published simultaneously across print and broadcast — maximising reach and making it impossible for the subjects to quietly manage the fallout.

Sustained Follow-Up

A single broadcast is rarely enough. These investigations include sustained follow-up reporting that tracks whether promised reforms actually happen.

Real-World Impact

The goal is not just to expose — but to change. These investigations have triggered Royal Commissions, Senate inquiries, regulatory action, and legislative reform.

Recognition

“The most decorated journalist of her generation — whose investigations have changed Australian law and held the country's most powerful institutions to account.”

2× Gold Walkley — Australia's highest journalism honour

2× Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year

13 Walkley Awards for Investigative Journalism

2× Logie Award — Most Outstanding News Coverage

23 Quill Awards incl. 2 Gold Quills

14 Kennedy Awards incl. 2 Gold Kennedys

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Explore the Full Archive

These eight major investigations represent the core of Adele Ferguson's work. The full journalism archive includes additional stories, commentary, and analysis.

Full Journalism Archive About Adele