Kate McClymont
Kate McClymont is the chief investigative reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald whose work follows the flow of money, power and corruption across politics, business, sport and the courts. Her reporting concentrates on financial and governance scandals where criminal behaviour, regulatory failure and personal misconduct intersect. She specialises in long-running investigations that expose complex networks of fraud, political influence and corporate abuse, often driving formal inquiries and legal consequences.
ICAC inquiries and the political underbelly
McClymont’s recent output is dominated by coverage of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, particularly Operation Rosny, which examines alleged blackmail, sham invoices and factional manoeuvring around local government and party power. Her stories track the inquiry’s minutiae, from covert recordings at suburban cafes to code words and tarot card readings used to coordinate mayoral coups, showing how petty tactics underpin broader political schemes.
She profiles key figures such as lobbyists, party operatives and developers, documenting memory lapses, conflicting testimony and paranoia as they play out in public hearings. Across these pieces she explains ICAC’s processes, the evidence being tested and the implications for those whose careers hinge on the inquiry’s findings.
Corporate governance and financial misconduct
Alongside political corruption, McClymont reports on corporate governance failures and financial misconduct involving high-profile business figures and listed companies. Her coverage of WiseTech Global chairman Richard White includes allegations that he provided a visa in exchange for sex and that the complainant has received support from lawyers with expertise in trafficking and exploitation, placing corporate power under a human rights lens.
She has also reported on corporate watchdog investigations into White’s share trading, bringing regulatory scrutiny and market conduct into the narrative around individual executives. More broadly, her work and podcast output have delved into major financial frauds such as the Melissa Caddick Ponzi scheme, tracing how an apparent financial adviser turned family and friends into victims of an elaborate investment scam.
These stories focus on how lax oversight, persuasive personas and complex financial products enable significant losses, and how regulators, courts and investors respond when the fraud comes to light.
Crime, courts and public accountability
McClymont’s investigations extend across crime and the justice system, often following cases from initial allegations through to criminal charges, trials and sentencing.
She is known for work on corrupt former politicians such as Eddie Obeid, whose conduct in public office she documented over years and whose eventual jailing came after sustained reporting on rigged tenders and misuse of influence. Her stories have examined union and organisational fraud involving figures like Michael Williamson, exposing how internal governance failures can facilitate large-scale misappropriation. She has also led coverage of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs salary-cap scandal, where her reporting on hidden payments and breached rules contributed to heavy penalties including loss of competition points and major fines.
In the courts, she has reported on neurosurgeon Charlie Teo’s treatment of patients and subsequent sanctions, sexual misconduct allegations against media and legal personalities such as Don Burke and Dyson Heydon, and the activities of financial fraudster Melissa Caddick, linking individual cases to systemic issues of professional oversight and victim protection.
Investigative format and reach
McClymont primarily publishes in-depth investigations, analyses and inquiry notebooks in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, often returning to the same inquiry or figure across multiple pieces to build a granular public record.
Her reporting is reinforced by audio work, including a major podcast series on the Caddick case that brought detailed investigative journalism to a wider audience and amassed millions of downloads. She frequently collaborates with other reporters on complex corporate and governance stories, sharing bylines on pieces involving regulatory investigations and allegations against senior executives.
Across platforms, she maintains a focus on documents, hearings and evidence, and has been recognised with numerous awards, including multiple Walkleys and an Outstanding Contribution to Journalism honour that reflect the impact of her work on crime, corruption and financial reporting.
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