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Travels From:
Sydney
Fee Range: E
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Philippa McDonald is an award-winning journalist who reported for the ABC from all over Australia and internationally for three decades.
Greatly trusted and respected, Philippa’s high-profile career has included covering some of the biggest stories of our time from bushfires to acts of terrorism, royal commissions to royal visits, political upheaval and coups, health and education, aviation to the environment and energy transition, corporate collapses to massive privacy breaches and arts and culture.
Philippa was part of the forensic digital team who investigated Australia’s biggest ever bushfire - click here
She and her team in Southeast Asia were awarded a United Nations Media Peace Prize for their investigation into the plight of Myanmar’s displaced people. She studied international affairs during a fellowship to the University of Oxford’s Reuters Institute of Journalism. Philippa was also awarded a Jawun secondment to work with Indigenous leaders on the Far West Coast of South Australia.
Philippa is deeply curious about the human experience and has interviewed people in times of tragedy and triumph. She covered the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the Prime Minister’s apology. She has also interviewed prime ministers and ministers from Australia and the Pacific, Indigenous leaders, major politicians, dictators, judges, criminals, leaders in numerous fields as well as famous names in arts and culture.
She has previously been the chair of the Walkley Foundation trustees and in 2023 was honoured with the Gold Medal from the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance for her contribution.
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Testimonials:
“Philippa was the Virtual MC and a moderator for the AICD’s 2026 Australian Governance Summit. She was exceptionally well prepared, highly professional, and brought a calm, engaging presence to the event that elevated the experience for everyone involved. The feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive, with many highlighting Philippa’s ability to keep the program flowing seamlessly while maintaining strong audience connection throughout. We are incredibly grateful for her contribution to the success of the 2026 Summit.” Bennett Mason, Content Programming Manager at Australian Institute of Company Directors
“The Older Women’s Network NSW requested Philippa’s assistance with MC-ing the launch of a suite of resources for frontline workers to help them respond more effectively to disclosures of sexual assault by older women. Philippa is such a professional - but has that supreme skill of also being personable, warm, generous and totally switched on with what is required for the task at hand. 5 stars is not enough to capture how good she is.” Yumi Lee, CEO of Older Women’s Network NSW
“On many occasions over the last few years Compass (Compass.info) has had the great pleasure of working with Philippa. As Editor of Compass, I have valued her expertise and professionalism in hosting our webinar series and our OnPoint interview series. I say hosting but in fact there is so much more involved. Philippa undertakes comprehensive research and preparation for every event. She meets with everyone involved in advance, provides notes and run downs and is so well prepared that she lifts the production of every project she is involved in.” Brett Osmond, Managing Director at Leading Hand Design
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