About Melissa Davey

Melissa Davey is Guardian Australia's Medical Editor, guiding the coverage through the global pandemic. Prior to that she was Melbourne Bureau Chief, also covering general and breaking news, child sexual abuse, family violence, medicine, social justice issues and the trials of Cardinal George Pell. She won a Walkley Award in 2019 in the Women in Leadership category for her investigation into disgraced gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed. In 2023 the investigation she led into concussion in sport, including an examination of the spurious scientific evidence informing concussion guidelines, triggered an AFL inquiry and saw her and her colleagues win a Melbourne Press Club Quill award in the competitive ‘Investigation’ category.

The podcast series 'The Reckoning', which she collaborates on with David Marr and Miles Martignoni, won two New York Festival awards and was nominated for a Walkley. She has written a book on society’s reckoning with child sexual abuse and the Pell trials, called ‘The Case of George Pell’.

Melissa has appeared on ABC News breakfast, is a regular guest on Triple J Hack, and also speaks about her work for other ABC programs including The Drum. She frequently appears on BBC World News, and commercial radio in Australia and overseas. Previously she has worked for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun Herald, and News Ltd.

She has a passion for communicating health and medical news and covering public health issues, medical malpractice and medical negligence and fraud. She also cares deeply about mental health and wellbeing, especially among those working in the media industry and covering difficult topics.

She has been nominated for four Walkley awards, two Quill awards, and has won awards for 'The Reckoning'. She has also won awards from medical bodies like the Victor Chang Institute and the Royal Australasian College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for her work reporting on rheumatic heart disease in Aboriginal kids, and for her investigation on the unstopped brutality of gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed. Her investigation into Gayed triggered a government inquiry. She is an established medical reporter.

Melissa also does consulting work for GenVic, Our Watch, Mindframe and Vic Health on the issues of gender equality, family violence and mental health and the portrayal of these issues in the media. She also conducts guest lectures and appears on panels and at festivals. As well as a double degree in journalism and international relations she has studied units in medical law, epidemiology and biostatistics. 

In her spare time she works as a fitness instructor, is finishing her Masters of Public Health, and is a swing-dancer.