Background Briefing

On New Year's Eve, 1983, the driver of a train passing through Kempsey in NSW made a grim discovery. The body of Lewis "Buddy" Kelly was strewn across the tracks. Police said the 16-year-old's death was an accident, but his family suspects foul play. The case is one of three eerily similar mysteries. Is there a pattern here? Allan Clarke investigates.

It was a $20 million investment scheme that saw the retirement savings of more than 100 investors used as a piggy bank for company directors who borrowed funds to cover cash flow problems and even a divorce settlement. This week, Mario Christodoulou updates his investigation after sighting internal documents suggesting the firm behind the scheme was lying to regulators and associating with "undesi...

They're legal in most states, subject to conditions, so why are women so often denied late surgical abortions? In this episode, Hagar Cohen goes inside the only private clinic in the country where pregnancies can be terminated between 20 and 24 weeks.

We now have our seventh prime minister in 10 years. What the hell is going on? This week, Background Briefing brings you a three-part special on the Liberal Party's leadership crisis. We witness the downfall of Malcolm Turnbull, speak to the conservative insurgents who challenged a sitting PM, and look at the consequences for our nation. (Language warning: This program contains profanity.)

Peter Daly projects confidence and success. He wears gold rings, gold cufflinks, and a gold watch. The market, he says, is his backyard and he knows it "damn well". But the 59-year-old is actually in a world of trouble. The corporate watchdog, ASIC, accuses his network of companies of mismanaging funds, misleading investors, and breaching the Corporations Act. Against the advice of his public rela...

Jaimie Byrne was supposed to be checked by nurses every 15 to 30 minutes while he was sleeping at Coffs Harbour Hospital in NSW on July 5, 2014. But the 42-year-old was found dead inside the mental health unit the next morning, leaving his wife and seven children desperate for answers. A joint investigation by Background Briefing and 7.30 has uncovered a series of critical failures by the Mid Nort...

Former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort is the subject of the first trial of the Mueller investigation, which is underway in Alexandria, Virginia. Despite the fact that his charges have nothing to do with the Trump campaign, there is intense scrutiny on it, and speculation about whether it will lead to Manafort turning on Donald Trump, or receiving a Presidential pardon. But what is Manafort o...

After a spate of recent suicides, taxi licence holders and their families are warning of the mounting human toll of deregulating their industry. Since the arrival of Uber and other ride-sharing apps, a once lucrative investment has plummeted in value. Who is to blame? Alex Mann investigates.

The shocking rape of a two-year-old girl in the Northern Territory this February exposed a child protection system in crisis. Some caseworkers say the threshold for removing a child from their family is too high and that authorities should intervene earlier. But a relative of the toddler is sceptical, arguing the solution is to tackle the underlying causes of violence in the community. Jane Bardon...

There is an ethical dilemma confronting the national redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse. Should applicants who have themselves committed serious crimes receive financial assistance? The federal, state, and territory governments believe anyone who has spent five or more years in jail should be subjected to a special assessment process. But critics argue that childhood trauma often s...

Asbestos continues to kill more people than car accidents every year in Australia. Once seen as a wondrous building material it remains in millions of homes in neighbourhoods around the country. Reporter Mario Christodoulou investigates Australia’s asbestos legacy and talks to the next generation of unwitting victims.

Thousands of patients may have been put at risk of exposure to tampered drugs by the Queensland Ambulance Service. One 74-year-old grandmother from Brisbane, Barbara Cook, believes paramedics unwittingly gave her a contaminated IV injection. She also believes that she contracted a life-threatening bacterial infection as a result. With secret recordings, leaked documents and whistle-blower testimon...

Last week, Australian journalism lost one of its greats. Liz Jackson, who won multiple Walkley awards, is perhaps best known for her work at Four Corners, but she cut her teeth in investigative journalism here at Background Briefing. In 1992, Liz travelled to Somalia to document the violence severely hampering aid efforts and costing hundreds of lives daily. In this podcast special, you’ll hear wh...

Almost one person with a disability is killed by their carer every three months in Australia. For the first time, Background Briefing has calculated this number by reviewing years of court documents and media reports. When a person with disabilities is killed, the burden of caring is often cited as a reason for the killing and may lead to lighter sentences. Reporter Sarah Dingle investigates bias...

A community in regional NSW is pushing for a different approach to how it handles drug-related crime. While politicians have promised a drug court to divert offenders into rehabilitation, very little has been done. In this Background Briefing investigation reporter Bronwyn Adcock speaks to community leaders in the city of Dubbo who are fed up with drug addicts having no other option than to be sen...

30 years after a young Aboriginal boy was found dead on the train tracks in the NSW town of Tamworth, the cause of his death remains a mystery. After a botched police investigation, his family decided to seek answers on their own – with devastating consequences. This week Background Briefing brings you a special investigation in collaboration with the Unravel True Crime podcast, prising open a thi...

Former Macquarie Bank clients are accusing the institution of pushing them into higher risk trading categories with fewer protections. Thousands of customers, including those with self-managed superannuation funds, were categorized as “sophisticated investors” , allowing the bank to trade their money without having to explain the risks or consequences in writing. In this co-production with the 730...

The oligarchs hold the power and the money in Russia. So who are they and why does your average Russian billionaire care about who sits in The White House? This week on Background Briefing we're introducing you to the ABC's new podcast, Russia if You're Listening . It is about is the most important news story of the decade—the investigation which could bring down US President Donald Trump. Each we...

Paramedics across Australia are stealing lethal opioids to cope with workplace trauma. Freedom of Information documents reveal nearly 100 investigations into the misappropriation of addictive drugs by ambulance workers since 2010. In this co-production with the 730 program, reporter Hagar Cohen asks why paramedics have stolen fentanyl for personal use. A warning, this episode deals extensively wit...

Alarming numbers of Australians are dying from fentanyl overdoses at increasing rates and undercover recordings show just how easy it is to get it. A NSW coronial inquest into the deaths of six people has just found double the amount of people die from prescription opioids than they do from heroin. In the first of a two part investigation, reporter Hagar Cohen revisits a story first broadcast last...

The Australian Senate passed an amendment to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan this week. This means that remaining water recovery, more than 600 billion litres, for the environment will not go ahead. Reporter Sarah Dingle and executive producer Alice Brennan cover this and other developments since our investigation went to air. Update: A Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan has conclud...

The Federal Senate is due to vote on major changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan– if it passes, it will effectively end further water recovery for the environment in the river system. The Basin States claim we can stop water recovery now, because they have 36 engineering projects throughout the Basin which can achieve similar outcomes. But critics hotly dispute that. In part two of our investig...

Australia is halfway into the most expensive environmental program ever mounted—the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

More Australians use sports supplements than almost any other country – but do we know what’s in them? triple j reporter James Purtill and Alex Mann investigate the killer contaminants fuelling Australia’s body beautiful obsession. The team talks to supplement importers who are selling banned ‘synthetic steroids,' off the shelf.

Organised criminals and heavy steroid users are importing raw powders to manufacture the drugs in their own backyard. Our two part program shows that while police trumpet their successes through rising arrest figures, users and dealers say it’s never been easier to get steroids in Australia. Reporter Alex Mann and triple j's James Purtill investigate this murky world of steroid supply and find a f...