Background Briefing

Three dead dolphins turn up in an oil spill.

"Simone" arrived on a remote island to help asylum seekers. But she witnessed something there that convinced her to leak over 2000 documents. Reporters Paul Farrell and Maddison Conaughton investigate what happened.

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

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 had misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in union members' money. So who was the man responsible for blowing the whistle on her? 

Reporter Annika Blau investigates.

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

In this 6-part series presented by Adele Ferguson, the Background Briefing team brings you the untold stories of ordinary Australians who helped bring some of Australia’s biggest and dirtiest scandals to light.

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.

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 of victims of crime in Mount Isa each year. This is the final episode looking at the youth justice system in Queensland — the state with the highest number of children behind bars.

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

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