Background Briefing

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.