Sarah Sharples
Sarah Sharples is an investigations editor at News.com.au, specialising in finance and consumer affairs stories that show how scams, hacks and corporate decisions play out in people’s lives. Her reporting sits at the intersection of money, technology and contract terms, returning repeatedly to individuals caught out by systems that are opaque, unfair or poorly regulated. She brings more than 15 years of experience as a journalist and editor on finance, business, news and politics to long-form investigations and daily coverage across the masthead.
Consumer finance and everyday money stories
Sharples’ finance coverage focuses on what happens when products, policies and institutions meet real households, rather than on markets or corporate performance alone. She has covered cases where bank customers lose substantial sums after data breaches and identity theft, including a story on a man who had $20,000 drained from his account following major hacks at large providers.
Her work includes stories that track how government or corporate decisions translate into payouts or shortfalls for workers and customers, such as reporting on taxpayer-funded support for employees of high-profile retail brands through corporate restructures and failures. She has written about people who end up unexpectedly ahead as well, including pieces like “Aussie man laughing all the way to bank,” using individual narratives to explain the mechanics and consequences of financial products and policy settings. In her People Before Profit series on scams, she focuses on how fraudulent schemes and aggressive sales tactics target everyday savers and consumers, making complex financial misconduct legible through detailed case studies.
Across these stories she consistently prioritises clear explanation of the money flows, obligations and protections that shape outcomes for individuals.
Technology platforms, scams and online harms
A significant strand of Sharples’ recent work examines the impact of technology platforms and automated systems on users’ livelihoods and identities. She has reported on social media bans and account deletions that silence performers and small operators, including a story on young athletes and DJs affected by platform enforcement decisions and an AI-led moderation process described as “judge, jury and executioner”. In another piece she follows an artist who loses 20 years of work after a hack and faces a damaging accusation and inadequate customer support from a major technology company, documenting in detail the financial, reputational and emotional fallout. These stories highlight the gap between the power of large technology firms and the limited recourse available to users when systems fail or rules are applied without transparency. Her reporting in this area often includes direct call-outs for affected readers to share similar experiences, underpinning investigations with a steady stream of first-hand accounts of scams, hacks and platform decisions.
Corporate conduct, law and regulation
Sharples has a longstanding interest in how corporate structures and legal frameworks shape outcomes for workers, consumers and taxpayers. Earlier in her career she reported on legal responses to organised crime, including analysis of anti-bikie laws and the civil liberties and enforcement issues they raised, written from a legal and regulatory perspective rather than as crime reporting.
She has examined complex corporate moves such as a major company’s plan to shift its domicile overseas, explaining the legal and governance implications of cross-border restructures. Her later finance reporting includes work on why public funds are used to underpin failing large companies and what that means for employees and smaller competitors. Across these pieces she draws a line from abstract law and corporate strategy to practical effects: who bears risk, who receives protection and who pays when businesses or regulators fall short.
Investigative remit and editorial role
Sharples joined News.com.au as a finance reporter and later became finance editor before being appointed the masthead’s first investigations editor. In that role she applies an investigative lens to consumer affairs, scams and finance, building out multi-part projects alongside day-to-day coverage. Her work on scams and consumer harm, including the People Before Profit series, led to a nomination for Outstanding Finance Reporting at the 2025 Kennedy Awards, recognising her ability to combine individual stories with systemic analysis. She continues to cover finance, business, technology and general news, with a particular focus on exposing scams and holding companies and institutions to account through detailed reporting on how decisions affect ordinary people.
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