Background Briefing

A one-man consulate and a mysterious list: How to get out of Gaza

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Father-of-three Ayman Dhlan started a WhatsApp group to help Australians and their families get out of war-torn Gaza. Now he can barely put his phone...

Hitler, Stalin and Shirley Temple lived in the Australian outback

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It might surprise you to learn that the names of pop stars and fascist dictators have been passed down to generations of Indigenous Australians. Rep...

An aspiring doctor from the 'burbs takes on medical schools for elitism

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From humble beginnings, Fahad faced hurdles entering medical school. Now, he fights for equal access to medical education.

How an ADHD diagnosis was the start of Natalia’s life unravelling

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Natalia had a job at a prestigious university, $120,000 in the bank, a loving partner, and shared custody of her two sons. Then one day, a little ove...

The whistleblowers who stared down threats from Australia's biggest bank

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How the Commonwealth Bank tried to stop a royal commission by using dirt files, intimidation, threats and surveillance against whistleblowers and jo...

The whistleblower who believed his employer was covering up an oil spill

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Three dead dolphins turn up in an oil spill.

The whistleblower who exposed Australia’s secretive offshore detention system

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers. But she witnessed something there that convinced her to leak over 2000 documents. Reporte...

The Whistleblower who brought down Australia's Dr Death

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When patients start unexpectedly dying at a regional hospital, nurse Toni Hoffman takes a big risk to blow the whistle on a negligent surgeon.

The Whistleblower who captured the nation — and the man who unmasked her as a fraud

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kathy Jackson was once heralded as a revolutionary who shone a bright spotlight on union corruption but she too was later found to be a fraudster who...

The Whistleblower who helped catch a paedophile politican

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After an electoral officer helped police arrest a popular state minister, her life began to unravel.

INTRODUCING — 'The Whistleblowers', a new series from Background Briefing

03 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this 6-part series presented by Adele Ferguson, the Background Briefing team brings you the untold stories of ordinary Australians who helped brin...

Can a rape trial be a positive experience?

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Two years ago, Meagan complained to the ABC that our coverage of sexual assault cases was too negative, and it didn't reflect her personal experience...

03 | The outland or the cage

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just after midnight, Marty woke to find three young intruders in his bedroom. Then they started talking to him. He'd now become one of the hundreds...

02 | The outland or the cage

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"Locked down for hours and hours": Jaxon explains what life is like inside a juvenile detention centre. 

01 | The outland or the cage

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jaxon stole a car at age 10. Six years later, the Mount Isa teen has a decision to make.

'What's your p(doom)?' Why AI experts are calculating our doomsday odds

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A growing number of AI industry insiders are guessing at the probability that Artificial Intelligence will lead to a catastrophic scenario for humani...

The little-known religious code ruling many major public hospitals

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that some of Australia’s largest public hospitals are run according to a religious code of ethics? 

Fashion victims

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kym Ellery, the founder of collapsed Australian fashion label Ellery Land, tells reporter Rachael Brown that business collapses are sometimes the pr...

Inside the battle to keep cocaine out of Australia

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reporters Ty King and Mayeta Clark are granted a behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous game of cat and mouse played by cops and cartels.

False Witness

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Heidi Davoren provides an extraordinary insight into a parenting dispute, where a mother and father come together after a Family Court psyc...

Grim Prospects | 02

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of the investigation into the deaths of Ray and Jennie Kehlet, reporters Rebecca Trigger and Ash Davis examine the story of the last man ...

Grim Prospects | 01

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Two campers go missing while prospecting for gold in the Western Australian outback.

The woman who offers one last chance for an Australian visa

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Australia's migrant workers can wait for years to find out whether they can stay here, and while they do they can become targets for opportunistic op...

Remy was 12 when she became a drug dealer

20 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As a teenager, Remy learnt to survive by hustling on the streets of Parramatta.

The Fine Print

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The consumer genetic testing industry has become big business.

Prisoner of the State

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a nursing home lives an elderly man who is being held against his will.

The Psychedelic Rush

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reporters Geoff Thompson and Annika Blau investigate how Australia became the first country to give scripts for trips.

Dead Man's Secrets | 02

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the second and final episode of Dead Man's Secrets, reporter Josh Robertson investigates the grisly murder of the powerful Papuan executive who ...

Dead Man's Secrets | 01

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A shocking murder takes place in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

How the system failed to save Darcey and Chloe | 02

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When two infants die after being left inside a hot car, their family seek answers to how this could have happened.

How the system failed to save Darcey and Chloe | 01

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Queensland authorities failed to heed multiple serious warnings that a young pair of sisters were in danger, before it was too late.

The psychiatrist and his star patient

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kate thought she'd finally found a psychiatrist who cared about her.

Under the Eye of Iran | 02

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Massoud was heading to a protest outside Tehran's embassy in Canberra when a phone call confirmed his worst fears had come true.

Under the Eye of Iran | 01

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Protesters say they're being ordered to read false confessions and their activities are under surveillance.

The tiny device that can cause huge pain

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's one of the most effective forms of contraception available.

Summer Season | Meet the teens at the frontline of organised crime

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There's a violent territorial dispute between rival gangs in Sydney’s west.

Summer Season | Catching a Fugitive | 02

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Batham has been in hiding for years, and after two narrow escapes the trail goes cold. Then, reporter Erin Parke gets a tip-off that that br...

Catching a fugitive | part 1

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A tall, eccentric Englishman with a secret double life flees Australia. For nine years he remains on the run. What he doesn't know is that two Austra...

Summer Season | Is getting quality care at medicinal cannabis clinics just pot luck?

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When Jordan wanted to treat his insomnia, he turned to an experimental therapy: medicinal cannabis.

Summer Season | Kidnapping the Gods | 02

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Precious artefacts looted from Cambodia and Thailand made their way into prominent collections here in Australia, and around the world.In the second ...

Summer Season | Kidnapping the Gods | 01

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many ancient Cambodian artifacts arrived in Australia during the 1960s and 1970s, when the south east Asian country was in turmoil.Mario Christodoulo...

The little-known religious code ruling many major public hospitals

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know that some of Australia’s largest public hospitals are run according to a religious code of ethics? 

Has the age of AI already begun?

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There’s new mind-bending technology that creates immersive media from scratch. 

Pain in Paradise 02 | Byron's Thin Blue Line

19 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago, a confronting video of a violent police encounter shocked the Byron Bay community.

Pain in Paradise 01 | What happened in Lateen Lane?

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In one dark Byron Bay back alley, a series of baton strikes changes a teenager's life.

Under the Eye of Iran

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Protesters say they're being ordered to read false confessions and their activities are under surveillance.

The tiny device that can cause huge pain

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It's one of the most effective forms of contraception available.

Is the AFLW ready for Tiwi magic?

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

AFL superstars like Cyril Rioli and Michael Long forged their talents there.

A far-right troll's journey from an Ipswich bedroom to global infamy

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Note: this episode was originally broadcast in July 2021 and it contains explicit language and confronting themes.

Is getting quality care at medicinal cannabis clinics just pot luck?

08 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When Jordan wanted to treat his insomnia, he turned to an experimental therapy: medicinal cannabis.

Faulty Towers 02 | 'The scummiest landlord in the state'

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following program contains references to a deceased Indigenous Australian.

Faulty Towers 01 | The birdman of Surry Hills

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From piles of rubbish to leaking sewers, rats, and gas leaks.

Meet the teens at the frontline of organised crime

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's a violent territorial dispute between rival gangs in Sydney’s west.

Inside the climate activists’ plan to shut down Australia

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When protesters disrupted one of Australia’s largest container facilities, the NSW Government responded with new broad-sweeping laws that carried ...

What happened to the Saudi sisters?

05 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The mysterious discovery of the Alsehli sisters, who were found dead in a Sydney flat after more than a month, has shocked Australians.But who are th...

What happened to the Saudi sisters?

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A special investigation by Rachael Brown and Mahmood Fazal into the shocking deaths of two women in Sydney's inner west.

The billion dollar industry helping students cheat

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When the pandemic pushed university assessments out of the exam room and into the bedroom, many Australian students turned to powerful new allies to ...

Who's developing the wilderness?

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There's a big nature tourism project about to take off in New South Wales, but many locals aren't all that happy about it.Reporter Mayeta Clark inves...

The artisan farmers taking on Victoria's meat regulator

16 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Victoria is marketed as an exciting culinary destination. But organic farmers say they're facing draconian rules that prevent consumers from accessin...

The fight for control over Black births

09 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Worried about racial inequities in the health system, First Nations women are fighting for culturally safe birth options. But as Quandamooka woman Ca...

Will any koalas be left in Australia's east by 2050?

02 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Being one of Australia’s cutest animals hasn’t prevented its slide towards extinction. Reporter Rachael Brown investigates what is being done to...

What goes on inside Australia's first long COVID clinic?

25 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of Australians are finding they still feel ill several months after contracting coronavirus.They're experiencing a new and little understoo...

Kidnapping the Gods | Part 2

18 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Precious artefacts looted from Cambodia and Thailand made their way into prominent collections here in Australia, and around the world.In the second ...

Kidnapping the Gods

11 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many ancient Cambodian artefacts arrived in Australia during the 1960s and 1970s, when the south east Asian country was in turmoil.Mario Christodoulo...

The teachers are not alright

04 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged schools across the country like never before, but it's also shone a light on existing issues within the professi...

Why Queensland's sex workers say the law puts their lives at risk

28 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Many states have repealed tough laws that put sex workers at risk of prosecution.But so far, Queensland hasn't followed suit.Now, the state governmen...

The 'holy grail' of IVF that went wrong

23 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

IVF has grown into a huge industry, with companies competing to provide fertility services.But in the quest to innovate and gain an edge, one Austral...

When the floodwater goes, what's next?

16 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Geoff Thompson followed several residents of Lismore as they tried to recover from February's monster flood in Northern NSW. But before they...

The mums accused of poisoning their kids

09 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

An almost unimaginable crime: two women accused of poisoning their own children at the same Sydney hospital.Both were charged and spent years separat...

The end of Australia's biggest coal fired power plant

02 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jim works in the control room at Eraring Power Station, where one quarter of NSW's power is produced.But Jim and his 450 colleagues have recently fou...

The quiet drug crisis you haven't heard about

26 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Prison authorities know that drugs are constantly finding their way into our prisons.But the most commonly detected drug is one you might never have ...

The scientists questioning a serial murder case

19 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She was convicted of killing her four children nearly two decades ago.But new scientific evidence has come to light, leading some of Australia’s mo...

Inside aged care's Omicron chaos

12 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This wave of coronavirus caused more Australians to die in aged care homes than any variant before it.This time we had vaccines and we had time to pr...

Catching a Fugitive | Part 2

05 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Batham has been in hiding for years, and after two narrow escapes the trail goes cold. Then, reporter Erin Parke gets a tip-off that that br...

Catching a fugitive | part 1

26 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A tall, eccentric Englishman with a secret double life flees Australia. For nine years he remains on the run. What he doesn't know is that two Austra...

The boss you can't escape from

19 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Why a part of our workforce is afraid to speak up, even if their lodgings have bedbugs, it's hard to get a shower, or their pay is getting docked by ...

How COVID chokes a hospital

12 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For months the NSW government assured the public that its hospitals were coping through the pandemic.But frontline staff are now speaking out about t...

The kids who broke out of detention

05 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

What children experienced inside Tasmania's youth detention centre for a long time remained out of sight, out of mind.But as Mahmood Fazal discovered...

Summer Season: Her name was Mhelody Bruno

29 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

She died in tragic circumstances, but it seems that the public, her family, even the court may not have been given the full story.Elise Kinsella inve...

Summer Season: A far-right troll's journey from an Ipswich bedroom to global infamy

15 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A young Australian far-right troll was known to his online fans as 'Catboy Kami'. Thousands followed his 'edgy' videos where he targeted children onl...

Summer Season: The hidden park of last resort

08 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

It’s one of the last affordable caravan parks near Sydney's CBD where people can actually make a home.Many of the residents were driven here in one...

Summer Season: 'The ghosts are not silent'

01 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

An awkward Christmas lunch conversation sends reporter Sam Carmody on a search for answers about his family history. The stories he finds out about a...

Summer Season: The death Uber Eats disowned

25 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Relatives of a dead food delivery rider say he was at work when a truck hit him. Uber Eats says he wasn’t. Patrick Begley investigates.This is a re...

Summer Season: The place where people mysteriously disappear

18 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Warren Meyer was a keen bushwalker who always came prepared for a hike. When he vanished in the wild terrain of the Yarra Ranges, police were baffled...

The giant wind farms clearing Queensland bush

11 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There’s growing community backlash over the locations chosen for a number of massive new windfarm projects in Northern Queensland.And as Mayeta Cla...

The infiltrator who helped hatch a terror plot

04 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A young Melbourne man got ten years' jail after attempting to buy a gun in preparation for a possible terrorist attack.Now his family is speaking pub...

The biggest financial scandal you've never heard of

27 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's been celebrated as Australia's "millionaires' factory".But Macquarie Bank is now caught up in the mother of all tax investigations.Reporter Mari...

Boom time in carbon farming country

20 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Graziers are discovering there's millions to be made from their flat red earth.Taxpayers are funding billions to reduce the nation's carbon footprint...

The hidden terror that's splitting people's identities

13 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Reporter Tracey Shelton spent years as a correspondent giving a voice to people in war zones who'd experienced trauma. When she returned to Australia...

Vulnerable, unvaxxed, and running out of time

06 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

These people were supposed to be near the front of the queue for Covid vaccines.But in Yarrabah, an Aboriginal community near Cairns, local doctors a...

How a conspiracy and a question led to 18 years jail

30 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

He was sentenced for a crime that shocked Australia: the terrorist plot to attack Sydney's Holsworthy barracks. But Nayef el Sayed's family are still...

Untouchable Assets | Part 3

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As government investigators close in, Asiaciti realises it hasn't been keeping a close watch on some of its risky clients.In this series finale, Mari...

Untouchable Assets | Part 2

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A rock concert ticket scalper and a controversial entrepreneur turn to Asiaciti for assistance.Using products from Graeme Briggs' company, they lock ...

Untouchable Assets | Part 1

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Graeme Briggs enjoys rugby, collecting Japanese fountain pens, and looking after other people's money. The problem for Graeme and his company Asiacit...

The scientists and shamans of psychedelic retreats

02 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There's a landmark project underway in Melbourne to find out whether psilocybin - the hallucinogenic compound in magic mushrooms - can be used to imp...

The Sydney security expert helping Afghan journalists escape

25 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Geoff Thompson follows the dangerous journeys of three Afghan journalists as they attempt to flee the Taliban. Two of them succeed with the help of a...

'The ghosts are not silent'

18 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An awkward Christmas lunch conversation sends reporter Sam Carmody on a search for answers about his family history. The stories he finds out about a...

What it's like to face terrorism charges

14 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Since the September 11 attacks, Australia has enacted a staggering number of laws to counter the threat of terrorism. Over one hundred people have be...

Inside the epicentre of Australia's Delta outbreak

07 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As COVID-19 cases surged in Sydney's south-west City of Fairfield, the government enforced tougher restrictions on residents there. But as Geoff Thom...

Reality TV's reckoning

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Reality shows are a central pillar of the television industry, but for the people who appear on them, the productions can be a gateway to years of me...