Background Briefing

Putin's war on drugs is fuelling an AIDS crisis, while in Uganda HIV+ people are being criminalised. Natasha Mitchell reports.

Seven and a half years after the deadly Black Saturday bushfires, the ordeal is still not over for many. An historic half billion dollar class action settlement has still not been paid out. Rachel Carbonell investigates

Three of Australia’s biggest banks stand accused of manipulating a key part of the wiring behind our financial system. As Mario Christodoulou found out, the unfolding court battle is providing a glimpse inside a sometimes-seedy world of high salaries, bad behaviour, champagne and lap dancing.

Migrants and asylum seekers attempting to enter the UK sometimes use boats, but more often hide themselves in cars and trucks. To the frustration of UK authorities, it’s often British people smugglers who offer to take people across the border.

Clinics across the country are offering stem cell therapy for everything from Alzheimer's to arthritis, but some patients are coming to harm, with little evidence to support the procedures they're undergoing. Ann Arnold reports.

As the number of Aboriginal kids in out-of-home care skyrockets, Victoria's child protection system has failed to reconnect many of these children with their culture, families and communities. Bridget Brennan investigates.

Thousands of dairy farmers have been hit with huge debts after Murray Goulburn misread the market and blew up the milk price. David Lewis investigates how it all went so sour

For the first time, Australia's top ASX companies are given a score for how open they are their political spending. Di Martin reports our biggest corporations fall well below international best practice.

When Indigenous leader Roy 'Dootch' Kennedy was finally jailed for his sex crimes, the women who stood up for his victim were pilloried and harassed. Bronwyn Adcock investigates.

The exploitation of vulnerable workers goes far beyond the 7-Eleven scandal. There's a huge labour black market in cleaning and hospitality ripping off international students. Ann Arnold follows the trail of international students just trying to get paid.

A third of the CSIRO's climate scientists have been sacked. It's part of a radical change in direction at Australia's premier science organisation. Will this leave Australia vulnerable to climate change? Paddy Manning investigates. (Warning: This audio download contains strong language that may be offensive to some listeners)

Freezing your eggs is a hot topic for women in their thirties, and more of them are doing it. But is the IVF industry giving women false hope about their real chances of having a baby? Hagar Cohen investigates.

Mount Isa Mines is one Australia's top polluters. Now families are starting to sue for the health impacts on their children.

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that Centrelink's decision to sack an employee for anonymous posts critical of the department on a discussion group was a "gross intrusion on the private lives of public servants". The Department is now appealing. What a public servant is free to say is now being fought in the courts.

What's the link between NSW's ethanol in fuel laws and political donations?

Chiropractors are manipulating the spines of newborns to treat colic. The practice has caused an almighty uproar in the profession

A deadly new strain of tuberculosis is incubating on the small PNG island of Daru, 10 kilometres off the top of northern Australia. Experts are calling it 'Ebola with wings'.

The VET FEE HELP scheme has descended into chaos. Enrolment forms were being flogged on Gumtree. The Turnbull government will have to write off billions in bad debt.

Why does being young and queer make you more at risk of being homeless? David Lewis investigates why home is not a safe place to be.

Quad bikes are more popular than ever, but a disturbing number of fatalities has manufacturers under fire for making bikes that safety experts say are inherently unsafe.

A mysterious bridge to nowhere in the middle of a a public parkland that big sporting interests are eyeing off.

Pretty vitamins and supplements are bankrolling today's Pharmacies. But with no proof of actual health benefit why is your friendly pharmacist giving them credibility?

It's not terribly fast or agile, and the high tech helmet could take the pilots head off if they need to eject. Who's idea is this?

TAFE has been the collateral damage from the federal government’s botched $6 billion scheme to fund vocational education and training. Reporter Paddy Manning investigates the rorting and the incompetence.

Wayne Carberry's traditional fishing rights are protected by law. So why are his people being jailed and fined for it? Bronwyn Adcock investigates a 21st century dispossession.