Australian Story - Season 31

Six years ago, Olympic champion Michael Klim almost lost the ability to walk. Then he received a devastating diagnosis. In this moving episode, Klim reveals how he hit rock bottom but ultimately emerged stronger.

The reclusive adventure filmmaker and '80s icon Alby Mangels looks back on an extraordinary career and explains why he turned his back on fame.

Sophie Hyde is one of Australia's most successful directors, working with some of Hollywood's finest. But in her latest film she turns the spotlight on her own family.

Australian Story revisits Perth's Deirdre Croft three decades after it filmed her caring for her intellectually disabled son.

Over three decades, filmmaker Andrew Wiseman documented the life of Perth woman Deirdre Croft as she raised her son Richard, who was left with a profound intellectual disability following birth trauma.

Now 72-years-old, Deirdre has invited the cameras into her life again.

This time, as her health declines, Deirdre is on a mission to put in place a network of people to care for Richard after she's gone.

"I think she has been preparing for her death from day one with Richard," Wiseman tells Australian Story. "The pressure is now on Deirdre to work out who's going to look after Richard from this point on."

Wiseman began filming with the family when Richard was just 10, capturing confronting scenes as he had meltdowns in public, as well as moments of great tenderness. Richard is now 45.

"Deirdre loves, loves and loved Richard from the moment he was born," says her sister Frith Mooney. "She has given him her all."

Combining Wiseman's extraordinary documentaries with contemporary scenes, Raising Richard is a deeply moving portrait of a mother who believes her son has taught her the value of a human life.

"Who are we to judge when a person's life is worth living or not?" asks Deirdre. "Perhaps the real tragedy is … there are too many other so-called intellectually normal people who are severely handicapped in their capacity to care for others."

From Arnhem Land to rock stardom, Yothu Yindi's Witiyana Marika was destined to take centre stage. Now, at a crucial time for his community, he's shed his dreadlocks and emerged as a leader of his people.

Monday's Australian Story revisits the story of Iraqi refugee Ghanim Al Shnen now living happily in Australia with family after years of waiting and endurance.

When Australian Story first told Ghanim Al Shnen's story in 2019, the Iraqi refugee was undergoing groundbreaking surgery to attach robotic arms following a catastrophic workplace accident the year before. But with his wife and four children living as refugees in Finland and his visa status in Australia unresolved, his life was in limbo.

For the next four years there were many advances on the medical front but whenever he inquired about his visa situation he was told to be patient. In 2024 that patience paid off when he was given permanent residency in Australia, allowing him to bring his family here to live with him. In late 2024, Ghanim's wife and children arrived, bringing an end to a 12-year nightmare.

"This is very, very like incredible result," he tells Australian Story. "My family and I in one place."

Australian Story caught up with Ghanim just before his family's arrival, after they had settled in and during an appointment with his prosthetist as they discuss how Ghanim is adapting to his robotic arms.

"I don't think anyone could get through what he's got through without some scars," reflects his friend Troy Mansell. "He just kept getting hit down day after day after day for years."

Says Ghanim: "I'm OK. I'm fine. I'm still alive and I can prove myself that these things never changed me or never make me weak. And in the end, I got what I want. My dream become true."

Producer: Greg Hassall.

In the 1960s and 70s, Mal Leyland was one of the best-known people on TV, as one half of the Leyland Brothers. Now at age 81, the pioneer of outback documentaries is suffering dementia - but still planning one last trip.

In 1966, a Melbourne high school was thrown into chaos when strange objects appeared in the sky. Sixty years on from Australia's biggest UFO sighting, witnesses are still looking for answers about what they saw at Westall.

Belgian backpacker Celine Cremer was on the trip of a lifetime but on a hike in Tasmania she took a wrong turn and was never seen again. More than two years later a group of friends and volunteers set out looking for answers.

Two and half years after Belgian backpacker Celine Cremer went missing on a short hike, friends and local volunteers scour the forest and finally find the answers they're looking for.

Broadcaster James Valentine was offered two different treatments for his cancer so he chose the one that let him keep doing what he loved. When it returned a year later, he faced the end with courage, purpose and humour.

John Polson was a troubled teen when a sliding doors moment led him into the world of acting. He went on to create Tropfest, one of the world's biggest short film festivals, changing his life and the Australian industry.

Sheep farmer Rob Armstrong never expected to be the face of political resistance. But when his state government proposed a levy that would hit volunteer country firefighters, a childhood trauma propelled him into action.

When Instagram trolls accused actor and director Rachel Ward of 'letting herself go', she used the attention to talk about her passion, regenerative farming, which has given her a renewed sense of purpose.

At 15, Mohamed Semra made headlines when he was kicked out of a Melbourne Apple Store by staff who were worried he might steal something. At 27, he's making history as the first Australian mayor from sub-Saharan Africa.

When Australian Story first met inventor Saul Griffith in 2023 he was on a mission to electrify the world. Although political changes in the US have tested his optimism, back home his own community is forging ahead.

Australian Story remembers Professor Richard Scolyer.

When 59-year-old Richard Scolyer died last Sunday from brain cancer, he left a remarkable legacy.

He was a world-renowned pathologist whose work with his colleagues at the Melanoma Institute led to a huge jump in survival rates from the deadly skin cancer.

When he was diagnosed three years ago with an aggressive brain tumour, his friend and colleague Professor Georgina Long devised a novel and risky immunotherapy treatment based on the Institute's melanoma work. Despite the risks, Professor Scolyer leapt at the chance to contribute to a medical breakthrough. Their work led them to being jointly nominated as Australian of the Year in 2024. Richard Scolyer survived far longer than predicted and his experimental treatment will now be tested in clinical trials.

Australian Story has followed Richard's medical and personal journey over three years, including the months leading up to his death. Despite doctors urging him to slow down, Richard continued to live life to the fullest. Eleven weeks before he died, he cycled 500kms to raise money for cancer research.

"Don't just lean in, leap in!" Richard told Australian Story in one of his final interviews. "That's how you can make a difference."

Australia's shared family heirloom Play School is celebrating 60 years on air, but what's the secret to its enduring success? With rare behind-the-scenes access, Australian Story examines its creative process with insights from past and present cast and crew.

Australian Story profiles volunteers in the government's Community Refugee Integration Sponsorship Program.

When a group of Australian Jewish friends decided they would support a newly arrived Muslim refugee family, all their lives would change.

The mother and son from Somalia had been prepared to embark on their new lives in Australia alone.

But when they landed at Melbourne airport last June, Naima Ali Farah and Feisal Abdi Sugal were greeted by a welcoming party who would help them settle into their new country. Over the year, the group has formed a remarkable bond, bridging religious and cultural differences.

"We are one big family," Naima tells Australian Story. "In our group, no Jews, no Muslim." They were brought together by the Federal Government's Community Refugee Integration Sponsorship Program, which matches everyday Australians with refugees.

"Every time I see them, I see aunts, I see uncle, I see grandmother," Feisal says. "They fill the spot in my heart that was empty."

Together they've celebrated religious occasions, shared stories and learned about each other's pasts, including Naima's incredible story of survival and resilience.

"There's been a real sort of cultural exchange," says volunteer Nicole Schlesinger. "It gives you hope that you can meet people from a different culture, that you can build bridges."

Australian Story profiles NRL player-turned #BookTok and anti-gambling advocate, Luke Bateman, who also featured in this year's I'm A Celebrity season on 10.

Growing up in Western Queensland, Luke Bateman had just one dream: to play in the NRL. But a crippling gambling addiction cost him everything.

Luke showed exceptional sporting talent from a young age and by the time he was 12 years old, he'd been signed by the Canberra Raiders. But a team bonding session at the local casino when he was 18 marked the start of a devastating gambling addiction that saw him lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"In the beginning of 2018, I still had $70,000 or $80,000 in my bank account. And in the space of a month, I had nothing," he says.

An ultimatum from his parents ended the cycle of addiction. They absorbed Luke's debts and he repaid them working in his stepfather's logging business.

He's since become an advocate for gambling reform, arguing that proposed recent government changes don't go far enough.

While working for his stepfather, Luke returned to the things that brought him joy – reading and writing. His first video posted to TikTok's community for book lovers, #BookTok, clocked up a million views overnight and caught the eye of a publisher.

Becoming an author was something Luke had never imagined, and it's set him on a mission to encourage young boys to take up reading.