ABC journalists Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett win 2025 Gold Walkley Award for childcare safety investigations
ABC journalists Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett have received the Gold Walkley Award, Australian journalism’s highest honour, for their powerful, multi-platform investigation into systemic failings in Australia’s childcare system.
The duo’s investigation started with the Four Corners story Betrayal of Trust In March, this had an immediate impact, leading to the suspension of a childcare centre, a state parliamentary inquiry and a series of federal government policy changes and safety reforms.
He was selected unanimously by a panel of judges made up of senior members of the Australian media industry.
Ferguson and Gillett also won three other Walkley categories: Television/Video: Current affairs short, Television/Video: Current affairs long and All media: Investigative journalism; the latter two with their ABC counterparts Ben Butler and Lara Sonnenschein.
They also became finalists All media: Coverage of a major event and Summary of the Year categories.
Ferguson won the Gold Walkley award for the second time. previously recognized in 2014 For his work with Four Corners, which exposed unethical practices at Australia’s major banks.
Adele Ferguson wins her second Gold Walkley. (ABC News)
Other ABC winners at Thursday night’s ceremony in Sydney included Mark Willacy, Jonathan Miller and Ryan Sheridan for their reporting from the front line in Ukraine, and Anne Connolly for her Background Briefing investigation into the aged care killer.
Walkley Jury Board chair Sally Neighbor said the high quality of this year’s winners and finalists was “testament that Australian journalism at its best is as good as anywhere else in the world”.
“At a time when the news media is experiencing major disruption, it is encouraging that the commitment to journalistic independence, excellence and integrity remains as strong as ever.”
he said.
9News national affairs editor Andrew Probyn won the Television/Video: Reporting category for his research. Russian gangsters and the Medibank hackJournalists from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age won first place in six categories.
The Financial Review won awards for explanatory journalism, feature writing and business journalism, while The Saturday Paper’s Rick Morton won the Walkley Book Award for exposing the robodebt myth. Average Line.
David Pope from Canberra Times became known for his cartoon dated 26 July: Gaza.
Full list of ABC Walkley winners
2025 Gold Walkley Award
Adele Ferguson And Chris GillettFour Corners/7.30/ABC News, Childcare crisis portfolio
All media: Investigative journalism
Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett, Ben Butler And Lara SonnenscheinFour Corners, for Betrayal of Trust: Australia’s childcare crisis
All media: International journalism
Mark Willacy, Jonathan Miller And Ryan Sheridan Teiana Prytulenko (Ukraine) for Durability with Four Corners
All media: Commentary, analysis, opinion and criticism
Media Monitoring teamMedia Watch for Nine’s beach house piggies, ABC radio couch-bound and Conflict Class
All media: Coverage of community and regional affairs
Joanna Woodburn, Hannah Meagher, fred shaw And Shaun King7.30/ABC News, Whistleblower calls for doctors to expose cancer surgery
Television/Video: Current events short (less than 20 minutes)
Adele Ferguson And Chris Gillett7.30, for Tokat: Child care revealed
Television/Video: Current affairs long (more than 20 minutes)
Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett, Ben Butler And Lara SonnenscheinFour Corners, for Betrayal of Trust
Short audio (less than 20 minutes)
Lucy BarbourAM for Australia’s ‘unspoken’ abortion ban
Audio is long (more than 20 minutes)
Anne Connolly And Background Briefing teamBackground Briefing for The Invisible Killer
