ABC journalists Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett win 2025 Gold Walkley Award for childcare safety investigations
The winners of the 70th Walkley Awards pose after the ceremony on Thursday night. (Supplied: walkleys.com)
In short:
ABC journalists Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett have won the Gold Walkley Award for their investigation into shocking safety failures in Australia's childcare industry.
The ABC took out nine Walkleys at the awards ceremony on Thursday night, the 70th time the annual Australian journalism awards have been held.
Other notable winners included 9News's Andrew Probyn for TV reporting, Rick Morton for his book on robodebt, and Canberra Times cartoonist David Pope.
ABC journalists Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett have taken out the Gold Walkley Award, Australian journalism's highest honour, for their powerful multi-platform investigation into systemic failures in Australia's childcare system.
The pair's investigation, which began with the Four Corners story Betrayal of Trust in March, had an immediate impact, resulting in the suspension of a childcare centre, a state parliamentary inquiry and a suite of federal government policy changes and safety reforms.
It was unanimously selected by the panel of judges, comprising 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 alongside ABC colleagues Ben Butler and Lara Sonnenschein.
They were also finalists in the All media: Coverage of a major event and Scoop of the year categories.
It is the second time Ferguson has won the Gold Walkley, having previously been recognised in 2014 for her work with Four Corners uncovering unethical practices in Australia's major banks.
Adele Ferguson has won her second Gold Walkley. (ABC News)
In a press release issued by the ABC, Ferguson said the childcare investigation underscored why public interest journalism mattered.
"Every day 1.5 million kids go to child care and parents expect they will be safe. This investigation exposed a system in crisis and sparked national conversations and reforms that will help keep children safer," she said.
"I'm proud to work with a team at the ABC that is willing to take on complex, difficult stories that need to be told."
ABC managing director Hugh Marks said the investigation was an example of "the ABC at its best".
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, Anne Connolly for her Background Briefing investigation into an aged care killer, Lucy Barbour for her AM coverage of Australia "unspoken" abortion ban, Joanna Woodburn, Hannah Meagher, Fred Shaw and Shaun Kingma for their 7.30 story on delayed cancer surgeries at a regional NSW hospital, and the Media Watch team for assorted commentary.
Former ABC TV news and current affairs head Peter Manning, who launched programs such as Lateline, Foreign Correspondent and Landline, was awarded the Walkley for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.
Walkley Judging Board chair Sally Neighbour said the high calibre of this year's winners and finalists was "a testament to the fact that Australian journalism is, at its best, as good as anywhere in the world".
"At a time of immense disruption for the news media, it is heartening that the commitment to journalistic independence, excellence and integrity remains as strong as ever,"she said.
9News national affairs editor Andrew Probyn won the Television/Video: News reporting category for his investigation into Russian gangsters and the Medibank hack, while journalists from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age won six categories between them.
The Financial Review picked up awards for explanatory journalism, long feature writing and business journalism, while The Saturday Paper's Rick Morton won the Walkley Book Award for his unpacking of the robodebt saga in Mean Streak.
The Canberra Times's David Pope was recognised for his July 26 cartoon simply titled Gaza.
Full list of ABC Walkley winners
2025 Gold Walkley Award
Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett, Four Corners/7.30/ABC News, Childcare crisis portfolio
All media: Investigative journalism
Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett, Ben Butler and Lara Sonnenschein, Four Corners, for Betrayal of Trust: Australia's childcare crisis
All media: International journalism
Mark Willacy, Jonathan Miller and Ryan Sheridan with Teiana Prytulenko (Ukraine), Four Corners, for Endurance
All media: Commentary, analysis, opinion and critique
The Media Watch team, Media Watch, for Nine's beach house porkies, ABC radio chairbound and Conflict Class
All media: Coverage of community and regional affairs
Joanna Woodburn, Hannah Meagher, Fred Shaw and Shaun Kingma, 7.30/ABC News, for Whistleblower doctors expose cancer surgery
Television/Video: Current affairs short (under 20 minutes)
Adele Ferguson and Chris Gillett, 7.30, for The Slap: Childcare exposed
Television/Video: Current affairs long (over 20 minutes)
Adele Ferguson, Chris Gillett, Ben Butler and Lara Sonnenschein, Four Corners, for Betrayal of Trust
Audio short (under 20 minutes)
Lucy Barbour, AM, for Australia's 'unspoken' abortion ban
Audio long (over 20 minutes)
Anne Connolly and the Background Briefing team, Background Briefing, for The Invisible Killer