The Drain · Lead investigation · Fig. 01

Australia is being siphoned

Every figure here is a sentence from one of our own articles, tied to the reference that article cites, with the year named. Nothing is estimated, and what cannot be tied is held off the map. Follow a dollar and it will name the company, the article that says so and the year.

Lead investigationFour rises in 2026On 29 September 2026 the Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to 4.60 per cent, unanimously: its fourth rise this year and the highest rate since 2011. Its reasons put a war and oil prices first. Its answer is to keep demand “subdued for a period”. This is the…The Inflation Rort · 29/09/2026Read it →
93
Investigations
103
Entities tracked
0
Structural break-ups
No sourced tax figure
Fig. 01 / The drain, as sourcedA$bn · one sourced year each

Hover or tap a conduit for its sourced figure and what comes back as tax

Hover or tap a conduit for its sourced figure and what comes back as tax
№Conduit · flow, where it goes, tax back, law
01TRANSURBANFlow A$2.676 billion EBITDA, FY25To shareholdersTax back No sourced figureLaw No law cited yet
Figure
A$2.676 billion EBITDA, FY25. One year, taken exactly as the article states it. Nothing is annualised or converted.
Source
Transurban: the monopoly, reference [1] Primary the cited sourceFY25 proportional toll revenue was A$3.732 billion and EBITDA A$2.676 billion, a 75.1 per cent margin
Tax back
No sourced figure.
The law
No law cited yet.
How this is counted
The conduit is sized by the A$ figure above, for the year named. Measures differ from one conduit to the next (profit, EBITDA, contract value), so widths compare the size of each sourced figure, not a like-for-like take. The rule is in the method paper.
02QANTASFlow A$1.61 billion profit after tax, year to June 2025To shareholdersTax back No sourced figureLaw No law cited yet
Figure
A$1.61 billion profit after tax, year to June 2025. One year, taken exactly as the article states it. Nothing is annualised or converted.
Source
The fare, reference [5] Official the cited sourceQantas Group reported underlying profit before tax of A$2.39 billion for the full year to June 2025, up 15 per cent on the prior year. [5] Statutory profit after tax was A$1.61 billion, up 28 per cent.
Tax back
No sourced figure.
The law
No law cited yet.
How this is counted
The conduit is sized by the A$ figure above, for the year named. Measures differ from one conduit to the next (profit, EBITDA, contract value), so widths compare the size of each sourced figure, not a like-for-like take. The rule is in the method paper.
03FEDERAL CONSULTANCYFlow A$968.6 million contract value, 2024-25To the firmsTax back No sourced figureLaw No law cited yet
Figure
A$968.6 million contract value, 2024-25. One year, taken exactly as the article states it. Nothing is annualised or converted.
Source
The crackdown that cost more, reference [1] Official the cited sourceFederal consultancy contracts in 2024-25 still reached A$968.6 million, up roughly 48 per cent.
Tax back
No sourced figure.
The law
No law cited yet.
How this is counted
The conduit is sized by the A$ figure above, for the year named. Measures differ from one conduit to the next (profit, EBITDA, contract value), so widths compare the size of each sourced figure, not a like-for-like take. The rule is in the method paper.
04SYDNEY AIRPORTFlow A$584 million aeronautical operating profit, year to June 2025To infrastructure fundsTax back No sourced figureLaw No law cited yet
Figure
A$584 million aeronautical operating profit, year to June 2025. One year, taken exactly as the article states it. Nothing is annualised or converted.
Source
Who owns the airports, reference [1] Primary the cited sourceIn the financial year to June 2025, Sydney Airport earned A$584 million in aeronautical operating profit, generating a return on aeronautical assets of 20.8 per cent.
Tax back
No sourced figure.
The law
No law cited yet.
How this is counted
The conduit is sized by the A$ figure above, for the year named. Measures differ from one conduit to the next (profit, EBITDA, contract value), so widths compare the size of each sourced figure, not a like-for-like take. The rule is in the method paper.

7 held off the map. A conduit is drawn only when its figure is a sentence in one of our articles that carries a reference, a named year and an A$ amount. These flows are on the record but not yet in that form, so they are not drawn. How the Drain is counted.

What a conduit is. A sourced flow of wealth out of the public’s hands, sized and paced by its sourced figure. 0 of the 4 leave the country; the other 4 stop closer to home, at shareholders, the firms and infrastructure funds. Leaving the public purse is the point.

This is the money. Four sourced conduits carrying wealth out of public hands, sized and paced by its sourced figure. It is not the whole archive: most rorts on this station turn on a date, a vote, a certificate never issued or a threshold quietly lowered. Those are on THE TAKE.

Fig. 01Source: entities.desk.json drain records · 4 sourced conduits · width and pace ∝ the sourced A$ figureAs of 2026‑07Auto-assembled