An ABC Four Corners episode on the Australian War Memorial's $550 million redevelopment breached the broadcaster's own code of practice, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found.
But the ABC has hit back, rejecting the finding that 'Sacrifice', aired in March 2025, breached its obligations around impartiality.
An ACMA spokesperson announced on Thursday, September 17, that the Four Corners episode "unduly favoured one (critical) perspective through its presentation of aspects of the Memorial's redevelopment project".
The investigation hinged on how the ABC explained findings from an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) audit of the project, and whether its treatment of Australian War Memorial (AWM) director Matt Anderson in an interview unduly favoured the redevelopment's critics.
ACMA chair Nerida O'Loughlin said that investigative journalism could take a variety of approaches, but Four Corners also had to comply with impartiality obligations under the ABC code of practice.
"Investigative journalism plays an important role in scrutinising matters in the public interest," Ms O'Loughlin said.
"However, the ABC must present contentious issues with due impartiality and provide audiences with sufficient context.
"We found that the cumulative effect of the program's framing, its use of strong and emotive language and its selection and differing treatment of interviewees unduly favoured critics of the redevelopment."
AWM council chair Kim Beazley, whose formal complaint to ACMA launched the investigation, said the AWM had a good relationship with the ABC, but it was a shame they had sullied it.
"The Four Corners experience was so out of whack with what was going on on the ground," Mr Beazley said.
"We are pretty happy with how the redevelopment has gone, given the prizes we keep winning for it, and how many Canberrans keep turning up.
"We were not satisfied with the ABC's response and expect the record to be set straight.
"The AWM's management of the development project is award-winning and the outcomes are world-class.
"The council will not allow this program to unfairly damage the reputation of the Australian War Memorial."
ACMA did not uphold Mr Beazley's allegation that the ABC breached its requirements around accuracy.
An ABC spokesperson said it welcomed ACMA's finding that the episode was accurate, but rejected the finding regarding impartiality.
"If widely applied, [it] could have a chilling effect on investigative journalism," the spokesperson said.
"Overall, the ACMA finding creates an unworkable interpretation of impartiality and imposes false balance on public interest reporting.
"It fails to understand the difference between an explanatory interview and an accountability interview and the obligation on public officials to be held to appropriate scrutiny.
"It also unfairly impugns the integrity of the reporter and fails to acknowledge the great efforts made by the program team to ensure impartiality.
"The ABC stands behind the team, the processes that were followed and the program as broadcast."
The ANAO found that the AWM's management of its development project was "largely effective" in audit findings published in April 2024.
However, it also found that not all staff involved in procurement processes declared relevant conflicts of interest, and some contracts were split to pass under the $1 million threshold for ministerial approval.
The redevelopment has since won a handful of gongs, including a heritage award at the 2025 National Architecture awards, and project of the year at the ACT Master Builders Excellence awards.
It is scheduled for completion in 2028.
