The empires, the outliers,
and the spectacular flame-outs.
Defamer tells the stories behind Australia’s businesses and the people who built — and broke — them. The rises, the falls, the fortunes and the reckonings.
Independent, and drawn from the public record — court findings, inquiries and the reporting of the day. See our editorial standards.
Where to start
Two engines: the drama — collapses, tycoons, scandals — and the admiration — the brands and the outliers.
- Rise & FallGreat Australian collapses
Ansett, One.Tel, HIH, ABC Learning — how the giants overreached and fell, and who paid for it.
- The PlayersTycoons & dynasties
Bond, Skase, Packer, Rinehart — the empire-builders, the family wars and the outsized personalities.
- HeritageIconic brand histories
Vegemite, Qantas, Holden, R.M. Williams — how the household names were built, sold and saved.
- The ExceptionalOutliers & global empires
Atlassian, Canva, Cochlear, Brambles — the Australian companies quietly conquering the world.
- On the RecordScandals & reckonings
Cartels, frauds and Royal Commissions — covered strictly from the public record.
- The ArchiveEvery story
Browse the full Defamer archive of Australian business stories, as they’re published.
Latest stories
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Freedom Foods to Noumi: inside the write-down that gutted a food stockHow Freedom Foods went from ASX darling to a $590m write-down and a rebrand as Noumi, and what the regulators found along the way.By Colin Ashworth
The Plutus Payroll fraud: how a payroll company became a $105m tax schemeInside the Plutus Payroll fraud: the second-tier company structure that siphoned PAYG withholding tax, the arrests, and what the courts found.By Colin Ashworth
Qantas and the sacked ground crew: what the High Court actually foundThe High Court found Qantas broke the law by outsourcing 1,700 ground handling jobs. Here's what the courts found, and what it didn't decide.By Colin Ashworth
Star Entertainment: what the inquiries found, and what the licence costThe Bell review and state inquiries into Star Entertainment exposed years of money-laundering failures. Here's what was found, and what it cost the casino group.By Colin Ashworth
The PwC tax leak: how confidential Treasury advice ended up helping clients dodge new lawsHow confidential government tax-policy consultations at PwC were allegedly used to help clients sidestep new anti-avoidance laws, and what the Senate inquiry and fallout revealed.By Colin Ashworth
ARB Corporation: how a Melbourne bull bar maker built a global empireARB Corporation turned bull bars, drawers and fridges into a global export business worth billions. Here's how the numbers actually stack up.By Priya Naidu