UTS’s Zac Nikolovski has taken out the annual Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for investigative journalism by a student for his exposé on the online drugs market for marijuana.
The third-year student showed how a network of thousands of dealers and buyers were arranging sales through a legal app, based in America, and via encrypted messaging to make buying dope as easy as ordering a pizza.
Nikolovski, 21, also receives $1,000 in prize money.
The not-for-profit Democracy’s Watchdogs, which honours the work of Australian investigative journalists and educates the public about the work of the country’s watchdogs and how they enhance democratic processes, is run by former journalist for The Age and Monash University senior lecturer Dr Bill Birnbauer.
Acting head of school at UTS Monica Attard said it was a prestigious award that would serve Nikolovski well as he began his career.
“It was a great story Zac put up – and we are really looking forward to seeing what he does in the future,” she said. “I’m sure there’ll be many more prize-winning stories.”
This is the fourth Democracy’s Watchdog award won by a student from UTS since the prize was founded in 2020.
Main photo of Zac Nikolovski with fellow student Sarah Goff-Tunks during reporting of the 2025 federal election. Photo by Zac Nikolovski.
