Anne Connolly has been named the 2019 Australian Journalist of the Year.

The judges said: "Anne Connolly’s reporting was critical in triggering the Royal Commission into the aged care sector, and she has continued to expose the industry to unwanted scrutiny."

The award was presented at the 2019 Quill Awards for Excellence in Victorian Journalism at Crown Palladium in early March 2020.

Full judges' citation

In a series of reports across TV, radio and online, Connolly has revealed further cases of nursing home residents being sexually assaulted, chemically and physically restrained, and generally neglected in a shameful way. Such is her reputation and credibility, Connolly has been deluged with emails and letters from families of aged care residents wanting her to tell their stories of mistreatment. Anne Connolly has stayed with this story when many others have moved on. She has become the leading reporter in an area that will become increasingly important in Australian life. Her tenacity and fearlessness are in the true Graham Perkin tradition.

The winning entry

'Video reveals an elderly man tied to a chair in a nursing home', ABC 7.30, 17 January 2019

'Chemical and physical restraint: What happened to Terry could happen again under new rules', ABC News, 27 June 2019

'The sexual abuse scandal nobody's talking about', ABC Radio National

'This is what neglect looks like', ABC News, 12 May 2019

'Bupa's aged care homes failing standards across Australia', ABC 7.30, 12 September 2019

'The Aged Care Royal Commission hears recommendations are ignored and elderly at risk', ABC News, 11 August 2019

'Aged care royal commission interim report holds first clue to what comes after the horror', ABC News, 31 October 2019

Please note: the above links may not comprise the entirety of an entry submitted for consideration.

Other finalists

Peter Charley, Al Jazeera
Nick McKenzie, The Age
Royce Millar & Ben Schneiders, The Age

Finalists' entries