Guardian Australia wins Quill award for investigation into concussion and the AFL

Three Guardian Australia journalists have won the Grant Hattam Quill award for investigative journalism at the Melbourne Press Club awards for their investigation into concussion and the AFL.

Melissa Davey, Stephanie Convery and Emma Kemp picked up the award for their work on “the gaping hole in sport’s concussion policies” with judges describing it as “exemplary investigative journalism”.

Judges called it a “consequential story” that “helped to trigger further inquiries and an apology from the AFL”.

Related: The AFL, the concussion doctor and the groundbreaking brain study that never appeared

Guardian staff were also highly commended in four other categories.

The Golden Quill award went to Four Corners journalists Bridget Brennan, Brooke Fryer, Suzanne Dredge and Stephanie Zillman for “How many more?”.

The program was an investigation into Australia’s murdered and missing Indigenous women, with judges praising the journalists for the “depth of research and sensitive storytelling”.

The program also won the Quill award for excellence in Indigenous affairs reporting.

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Writer Sean Kelly won the Keith Dunstan Quill for commentary for his piece “Endings and Beginnings” on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, with his work called “moving, intelligent and heartfelt”.

The Guardian’s Jonathan Horn was highly commended in the category for his commentary on sporting controversies.

Paul Sakkal of the Age won the Quill for news reporting in writing, for his reporting on the Ibac probe into Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

The excellence in science, medical and health reporting Quill went to Pallavi Singhal, Nick O’Malley, Daniel Carter and Mark Stehle of the Age for their story “Silent Killer”, on the science and the implications of global warming.

The Guardian’s Melissa Davey was highly commended in the category for her series Generation Vape.

The Quill for scoop of the year went to Annika Smethurst and Paul Sakkal of the Age for their story “Victorian Liberals’ donor scandal”. The story, and its impact on the Victorian state election, led judges to recognise it as the most important scoop of the year.

The Guardian’s Noor M Ramazan and Christopher Hopkins were highly commended for the multicultural affairs and media Quill award, for their interactive essay, “A year since fleeing Kabul: ‘Now my children can grow up in peace’”.

Hopkins was also commended in the Features Photograph category for his image “Heaven is the place where there is no harm”.

The Melbourne Press Club lifetime achievement award went to former ABC Melbourne radio broadcaster Jon Faine.