Thrilled to announce that Stephanie Tran is the winner of Democracy’s Watchdogs’ 2021 award for investigative reporting by journalism students.

Stephanie is a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism)/Bachelor of Laws student at the University of Technology Sydney. She will receive an engraved trophy and $1000.

Two students from the University of Melbourne, Vanessa Di Natale and Petra Stock, were highly commended by the award’s judges. They will each receive  a certificate and $500.

You can read their stories and the judges’ comments here: https://democracyswatchdogs.org/2021-student-awards

Each of these students did the hard yards of researching their stories, which were original, involved diligent and painstaking searches and the use of investigative tools and approaches. They were clearly in the public interest.

A big thank you to all the students who entered the awards this year, and also to their lecturers for the guidance, encouragement and support they provided.

I’m sure we will be running again next year. In the meantime, have a great summer break!

Regards, Bill Birnbauer,

CEO Democracy’s Watchdogs