Adele Ferguson is an Australian investigative journalist, best known for her series of exposés of malfeasance in the franchising, aged care, and financial services sectors in Australia which have resulted in major inquiries including the Hayne Royal Commission.

Career

After graduating from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on ...

with degrees in economics and arts, Ferguson began a cadetship at '' The Advertiser'' newspaper. She then worked at ''

Business Review Weekly ''BRW'' (formerly ''Business Review Weekly'') was an Australian business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. The magazine was headquartered in Melbourne. It regularly compiled lists which rank corporations and individuals according to ...

'' magazine as senior business correspondent, and as business writer for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewat ...

'' newspaper. In 2009, she joined

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased '' The Sydney Morning Hera ...

as senior business writer and columnist for ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' and ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...

''. In July 2012, Ferguson released ''Gina Rinehart: The Untold Story of the Richest Woman in the World'', an

unauthorised biography An unauthorized biography is a biography written without the subject's permission or input. The term is usually restricted to biographies written within the subject's lifetime or shortly after their death; as such, it is not applied to biograph ...

of mining magnate

Gina Rinehart Georgina Hope Rinehart (née Hancock, born 9 February 1954) is an Australian mining magnate and businesswoman. Rinehart is the Executive Chairman of Hancock Prospecting, a privately owned mineral exploration and extraction company founded by ...

. Rinehart's lawyers issued a subpoena for Ferguson to produce source material relating to Rinehart's son,

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of ...

. The subpoena was dismissed by the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,0 ...

, with Rinehart ordered to pay Ferguson's legal costs. Since 2014, Ferguson has worked on several joint investigations with the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

'' program. The first, "Banking Bad", described "unconscionable banking practices" in the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, b ...

and other Australian banks, and won the

Gold Walkley The Gold Walkley is the major award of the Walkley Awards The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic ...

award. Subsequent collaborations alleged wage fraud in the

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. ...

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino ...

Retail Food Group Retail Food Group (Australia) Limited, often abbreviated as RFG (), is an ASX listed company and Australian franchisor based in Robina, Queensland. It owns numerous companies including Gloria Jean's Coffees, Brumby's Bakeries, Donut King, Mi ...

and

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. It is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as New Zealand, and previously A ...

franchises. For her work in exposing corporate governance malpractices in the financial sector, the

Institute of Certified Management Accountants The Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) is an Australian organisation operating globally, focused on management accounting. It differs from other Australian Accounting societies: CPA Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants ...

, Australia inducted Ferguson to the Global Management Accounting Hall of Fame in 2019.

Awards and honours

In 2014, Ferguson (along with ABC collaborators Deb Masters and Mario Christodoulou) won the

award for their story "Banking Bad" about the financial planning and advice services of the

. Also in 2014, Ferguson won Journalist of the Year at the Kennedy Awards. Ferguson was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

in the

2019 Australia Day Honours The 2019 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2019 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Aust ...

, for significant service to the print and broadcast media as a journalist and business commentator. ''Banking Bad'' was shortlisted for the 2020

Davitt Award The Davitt Awards are literary awards which are presented annually by the Sisters in Crime Australia association. The awards are named in honour of Ellen Davitt (1812–1879) who wrote Australia's first mystery novel, ''Force and Fraud'' in 186 ...

for best nonfiction crime book and best debut crime book.

Publications

* * Reviews:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Adele Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian business and financial journalists Australian women journalists University of Adelaide alumni The Age (Melbourne) people Walkley Award winners Members of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian writers