Adele Ferguson
ABC investigative unit
“You have to give people a voice which is what I try to do in my work.”
Adele Ferguson has exposed deceptions, scams and heartless profiteering by financial institutions and weak oversight by the nation’s regulators. Her work has led to hundreds of millions of dollars being refunded to bank customers and ripped-off workers, as well as a Royal Commission and other inquiries.
She has won more than 50 key journalism and other awards including the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year, the top prize in the Walkley, Quill and Kennedy awards, a Logie, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to journalism.
Career Timeline
1990s: Completes a graduate cadetship at The Advertiser in Adelaide after completing Bachelor of Economics and Arts and Honours degrees at Adelaide University. Moves to Sydney and joins Business Review Weekly.
2000: Wins Citi journalism award which includes studying journalism at Columbia University in New York.
2003: Wins her first Melbourne Press Club Quill award for an expose into the secret past of David Knott, the chairman of the corporate regulator ASIC. David Knott resigns.
2007: Joins The Australian as columnist and senior business reporter
2009: Joins The Age and Sydney Morning Herald as a senior business reporter and commentator. Wins three Quill awards.
2012: Writes unauthorised biography, ‘Gina Rinehart: The untold story of the richest woman in the world’.
2013: Ferguson is served a subpoena by Gina Rinehart to reveal her contacts which results in a court battle to protect her sources. The subpoena later is set aside by consent and Rinehart’s company ordered to pay Ferguson’s legal costs. Triggers a parliamentary inquiry into CBA and the corporate regulator.
2014: Takes time off to work with Four Corners on ‘Banking Bad’ which wins a Gold Walkley, a Gold Quill, a Gold Kennedy and a Logie.
2015: Second joint investigation with Four Corners exposes wage fraud at 7-Eleven. Wins awards including Walkleys, the Gold Quill award and the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year. Sparks a Senate inquiry and results in the repayment of $160 million in underpayments. Continues to expose wrongdoing in banks, including NAB, ANZ, IOOF.
2016: Reports Four Corners/ Fairfax investigation into CBA’s life insurance arm. The story triggers a series of investigations.
2017: Another joint investigation with Four Corners looks at the country’s biggest retirement village operator, Aveo, and the brutal business model that bleeds retirees dry. The story results in a series of investigations by the ACCC and changes to state legislation.
2018: Returns to Four Corners with The Age/SMH to look into the Australian Taxation Office, and features whistleblower Richard Boyle, who was raided days before the story went to air. The investigation leads to inquiries and changes to ATO’s processes. Does ABC 7.30 stories including exposes into fake honey, mortgage broking and CASA.
2019: Receives an Order of Australia, AM. Publishes her second book, ‘Banking Bad: Whistleblowers. Corporate cover-ups. One journalist’s fight for the truth’.
2020: Joins Walkley Foundation board.
2021: Appointed chair of Walkley Foundation board.
2023: Leaves Nine to join ABC as investigative journalist and senior business commentator.
Books
Gina Rinehart: The untold story of the richest woman in the world.
Banking bad: Whistleblowers. Corporate cover-ups. One journalist’s fight for the truth.
Awards
2000: Citi Journalism Award for Excellence.
2003: Melbourne Press Club Quill, best business story in any medium
2005: Quill, best business story in any medium
2007: Quill, best business story in any medium
2008: Quill, best columnist; Quill, best business story in any medium
2011: Quill, best business story in any medium;
2013: Walkley award (with Chris Vedelago), business journalism; Quill (with Chris Vedelago), best business story in any medium; Kennedy award, outstanding columnist; Kennedy, outstanding finance reporting
2014: Gold Walkley (with Deb Masters & Mario Christodoulou); Walkley (with Deb Masters & Mario Christodoulou), weekly current affairs; Gold Quill; Quill (with Four Corners/ The Age), best business story in any medium; NSW Journalist of the Year, Gold Kennedy; Kennedy, outstanding finance reporting; Kennedy, outstanding investigative reporting; Kennedy, outstanding television current affairs reporting;
2015: Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year; Gold Quill; Quill (with Four Corners/The Age), best business story in any medium; Quill (with The Age reporters), best use of digital or social media; Walkley (with Sarah Danckert & Klaus Toft), business journalism Kennedy, outstanding finance reporting; Logie.
2016: Walkley (with Klaus Toft & Mario Christodoulou), business journalism; Walkley (with Klaus Toft & Mario Christodoulou), investigative journalism; NSW Journalist of the Year, Gold Kennedy; Kennedy, outstanding investigative reporting (with Klaus Toft & Sarah Danckert); Kennedy, outstanding finance reporting (with Four Corners); Quill (with Four Corners/The Age), business news; Quill (with Four Corners/The Age), TV/video feature (long form); National Press Club: excellence in financial journalism; National Press Club, business and company; National Press Club, personal and consumer finance.
2017: Walkley (with Mario Christodoulou), business journalism; Walkley (with Sarah Danckert & Klaus Toft), investigative journalism; Grant Hattam Quill for investigative reporting joint winner (with Sarah Danckert & Klaus Toft); Quill (with Sarah Danckert), business news; Quill (with Four Corners/ The Age), TV/video feature (long form); National Press Club, excellence in financial journalism.
2018: Quill (with The Age/ Four Corners), business news; Kennedy, outstanding finance reporting; Eureka Democracy Award; Fairfax Women of Influence & Agenda Setter Award; National Press Club, global and economic reporting award for expose (with Nassim Khadem, Lesley Robinson & Lucy Carter).
2019: Member of the Order of Australia; Kennedy, outstanding nightly current affairs (with Chris Gillett).
2020: Walkley, documentary (with Nial Fulton and Tony Jones); Davitt, best non-fiction crime book.
2021: Quill, TV/video feature (with Lauren Day and Klaus Toft).
2022: Walkley, TV/video current affairs long (with Lauren Day and Klaus Toft); Quill, business news/feature (with Chris Gillett); Kennedy, outstanding consumer affairs reporting (with Joel Tozer); Kennedy, outstanding investigative reporting (with Lauren Day and Klaus Toft).