# APRA Awards (Australia)

The APRA Music Awards in Australia celebrate excellence in contemporary music, honoring songwriters and publishers who have achieved artistic excellence and outstanding success in their fields.
Several award ceremonies are run in Australia by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). In addition to the APRA Music Awards, APRA AMCOS, in association with the Australian Music Centre, presents awards for classical music, jazz and improvised music, experimental music and sound art, known as the Art Music Awards. It also runs, in association with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), the Screen Music Awards, to acknowledge excellence in the field of screen composition.

## APRA Music Awards (Australia)

The APRA Music Awards were established in 1982 to honour songwriters and music composers for their efforts. The award categories are:

### Gold Awards

From 1982 to 1990, the best songs were given the Gold Award, which was also called the Special Award. In the mid-1980s Platinum Awards were given to significant works from previous years.
| Year | Songwriter(s) | Artist | Winning work | Award |
| 1982 | Graeham Goble | Little River Band | "Reminiscing" | Gold Award |
| 1982 | Graham Russell | Air Supply | "Lost in Love" | Gold Award |
| 1982 | Glenn Shorrock | Little River Band | "Cool Change" | Gold Award |
| 1982 | Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott | AC/DC | "Highway To Hell" | Gold Award |
| 1983 | No awards | No awards | No awards | No awards |
| 1984 | Graham Russell | Air Supply | "The One That You Love" | Special Award |
| 1984 | Colin Hay | Men at Work | "Who Can It Be Now?" | Special Award |
| 1984 | Brian May | — | Mad Max film score | Special Award |
| 1985 | Colin Hay, Ron Strykert | Men at Work | "Down Under" | Special Award |
| 1985 | John Antill | — | "Corroboree" | Special Award |
| 1985 | Graeham Goble | Little River Band | "The Other Guy" | Special Award |
| 1985 | Reece Kirk | Crystal Gayle | "Our Love Is on the Faultline" | Special Award |
| 1986 | Eric Bogle | Eric Bogle | "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" | Gold Award |
| 1987 | Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson | AC/DC | "Back in Black" | Gold Award |
| 1987 | Mark Knopfler | Dire Straits | Brothers in Arms | Gold Award (album) |
| 1988 | Jack O'Hagan | — | "Along the Road to Gundagai" | Platinum Award |
| 1988 | Gordon Parsons | Slim Dusty | "Pub With No Beer" | Platinum Award |
| 1988 | Rolf Harris | Rolf Harris | "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" | Platinum Award |
| 1988 | Dorothy Dodd | — | "Granada" | Platinum Award |
| 1988 | Marie Cowan, Banjo Paterson | — | "Waltzing Matilda" | Platinum Award |
| 1988 | Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | "What You Need" | Gold Award |
| 1988 | Peter Best | — | Crocodile Dundee film score | Gold Award |
| 1989 | John Antill | — | "Corroboree" | Platinum Award |
| 1989 | Harry Vanda & George Young | — | In recognition of the outstanding popularity of their collective works throughout the world | Platinum Award |
| 1989 | Neil Finn | Crowded House | "Don't Dream It's Over" | Gold Award |
| 1989 | Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | "Need You Tonight" | Gold Award |
| 1989 | Hal David | — | In recognition of the outstanding popularity of his many works in Australia and New Zealand | Gold Award |
| 1989–1990 (held in 1991) | Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst, James Moginie | Midnight Oil | "Beds Are Burning" | Gold Award |
| 1990 | Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | "Devil Inside" | Gold Award |
| 1990 | Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence | INXS | "New Sensation" | Gold Award |

### Song of the Year

Song of the Year is decided by the votes of APRA members. All eligible songs must be written by an APRA member and released in the preceding calendar year for consideration. The Song of the Year award is considered one of the most prestigious of the APRA Music Awards.
| Year | Songwriter(s) | Artist | Song |
| 1991 | Bakamana Yunipingu, Stuart Kellaway, Gurrumul Yunipingu, Milkayggu Mununggurr, Cal Williams, Paul Kelly | Yothu Yindi | "Treaty" |
| 1992 | Rick Price, Heather Field | Rick Price | "Heaven Knows" |
| 1993 | Neil Finn and Tim Finn | Crowded House | "Four Seasons in One Day" |
| 1994 | Neil Finn | Crowded House | "Distant Sun" |
| 1995 | Neil Murray | Christine Anu | "My Island Home" |
| 1996 | Tina Arena, Robert Parde, Heather Field | Tina Arena | "Wasn't It Good" |
| 1997 | No awards | No awards | No awards |
| 1998 | Dean Manning | Leonardo's Bride | "Even When I'm Sleeping" |
| 1999 | James Roche | Bachelor Girl | "Buses and Trains" |
| 2000 | Jonathan Coghill, John Collins, Ian Haug, Darren Middleton, Bernard Fanning | Powderfinger | "Passenger" |
| 2001 | Bernard Fanning | Powderfinger | "My Happiness" |
| 2002 | Alex Lloyd | Alex Lloyd | "Amazing" |
| 2003 | Kasey Chambers | Kasey Chambers | "Not Pretty Enough" |
| 2004 | John Butler | John Butler Trio | "Zebra" |
| 2005 | Missy Higgins and Kevin Griffin | Missy Higgins | "Scar" |
| 2006 | Ben Lee and McGowan Southworth | Ben Lee | "Catch My Disease" |
| 2007 | Glenn Richards | Augie March | "One Crowded Hour" |
| 2008 | Daniel Johns and Julian Hamilton | Silverchair | "Straight Lines" |
| 2009 | Chris Cheney | The Living End | "White Noise" |
| 2010 | Dougy Mandagi and Lorenzo Sillitto | The Temper Trap | "Sweet Disposition" |
| 2011 | Angus Stone, Julia Stone | Angus & Julia Stone | "Big Jet Plane" |
| 2012 | Wally de Backer, Luiz Bonfa | Gotye feat Kimbra | "Somebody That I Used To Know" |
| 2013 | Kevin Parker | Tame Impala | "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" |
| 2014 | James Keogh | Vance Joy | "Riptide" |
| 2015 | Sia Furler, Jesse Shatkin | Sia | "Chandelier" |
| 2016 | Kevin Parker | Tame Impala | "Let It Happen" |
| 2017 | D.D Dumbo a.k.a. Oliver Perry | D.D Dumbo | "Satan" |
| 2018 | Paul Kelly, Billy Miller | Paul Kelly | "Firewood and Candles" |
| 2019 | Amy Billings | Amy Shark | "I Said Hi" |
| 2020 | Toni Watson | Tones and I | "Dance Monkey" |
| 2021 | Joel Davison, Rob Hirst, Bunna Lawrie | Midnight Oil featuring Dan Sultan, Joel Davison, Kaleena Briggs, Bunna Lawrie | "Gadigal Land" |
| 2022 | The Kid LAROI, Justin Bieber, Isaac De Boni, Omer Fedi, Magnus Høiberg, Michael Mule, Charlie Puth, Subhaan Rahman, Blake Slatkin | The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber | "Stay" |
| 2023 | Harley Streten, Sarah Aarons | Flume featuring May-a | "Say Nothing" |

### Songwriter of the Year

Songwriter of the Year is voted by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors rewarding the songwriter who has recorded the most impressive body of work in the previous year.
| Year | Songwriter |
| 1991 | Phil Buckle |
| 1992 | Neil Finn and Tim Finn |
| 1993 | Greg Arnold |
| 1994 | Neil Finn |
| 1995 | Daniel Johns and Benjamin Gillies |
| 1996 | Nick Cave |
| 1997 | No awards |
| 1998 | Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones |
| 1999 | Paul Kelly |
| 2000 | Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones |
| 2001 | Ella Hooper and Jesse Hooper |
| 2002 | Kasey Chambers |
| 2003 | Daniel Johns |
| 2004 | Powderfinger |
| 2005 | Jet |
| 2006 | Bernard Fanning |
| 2007 | Andrew Stockdale, Myles Heskett and Chris Ross |
| 2008 | Daniel Johns |
| 2009 | Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton |
| 2010 | Angus Young and Malcolm Young |
| 2011 | Angus Stone and Julia Stone |
| 2012 | Gotye |
| 2013 | Sia |
| 2014 | Sia |
| 2015 | Sia |
| 2016 | Courtney Barnett |
| 2017 | Harley Streten p.k.a. Flume |
| 2018 | Adam Briggs p.k.a. Briggs and Daniel Rankine p.k.a. Trials |
| 2019 | Sarah Aarons |
| 2020 | Barry Francis p.k.a. DJ Debris, Matthew Lambert p.k.a. Suffa, Daniel Smith p.k.a. MC Pressure (members of Hilltop Hoods) |
| 2021 | Kevin Parker |
| 2024 | The Teskey Brothers, Josh Teskey and Sam Teskey |

### The Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music

The Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music' is decided by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors for a lifetime contribution. The Award is named after Ted Albert whose company Albert Productions put out records by The Easybeats, AC/DC and John Paul Young.
| Year | Winner |
| 1991 | Allan Hely |
| 1992 | John Sturman |
| 1993 | Peter Sculthorpe |
| 1994 | Ian Meldrum |
| 1995 | Harry Vanda and George Young |
| 1996 | Ron Tudor |
| 1997 | No awards |
| 1998 | Michael Gudinski |
| 1999 | Slim Dusty |
| 2000 | Triple J |
| 2001 | Charles Fischer |
| 2002 | Barry Chapman |
| 2003 | Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott |
| 2004 | Don Burrows |
| 2005 | Michael Chugg |
| 2006 | Bill Armstrong |
| 2007 | Michael McMartin |
| 2008 | Roger Davies |
| 2009 | Revoked |
| 2010 | Jimmy Little |
| 2011 | Paul Kelly |
| 2012 | Mary Lopez |
| 2013 | The Seekers |
| 2014 | Lindy Morrison |
| 2015 | Fifa Riccobono |
| 2016 | Cold Chisel |
| 2017 | Archie Roach |
| 2018 | Midnight Oil |
| 2019 | Rob Potts |
| 2020 | No awards |
| 2021 | Helen Reddy, Joy McKean |
| 2022 | The Wiggles |
| 2023 | Colin Hay, Colleen Ironside |
| 2024 | Bart Willoughby |

### Breakthrough Songwriter Award

Breakthrough Songwriter Award is decided by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors for an emerging songwriter or groups of writers. The award category was first introduced by APRA in 2002.
| Year | Winner |
| 2002 | Jennifer Waite and Grant Wallis (Aneiki) |
| 2002 | Sia |
| 2003 | Craig Nicholls (The Vines) |
| 2004 | Delta Goodrem |
| 2005 | Missy Higgins |
| 2006 | Myles Heskett, Christopher Ross and Andrew Stockdale (Wolfmother) |
| 2007 | Glenn Richards (Augie March) |
| 2008 | Sally Seltmann (New Buffalo) |
| 2009 | Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu |
| 2010 | Nick Littlemore, Jonathan Sloan, Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun) |
| 2011 | Megan Washington |
| 2012 | Killian Gavin, Jonathon Hart, Timothy Hart, David Hosking, Jacob Tarasenko (Boy & Bear) |
| 2013 | Matthew Colwell (p.k.a. 360), Kaelyn Behr (p.k.a. Styalz) |
| 2014 | Louis Schoorl |
| 2015 | Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds of Summer) |
| 2016 | Alex Hope |
| 2017 | Troye Sivan a.k.a. Troye Sivan Mellet |
| 2018 | Sarah Aarons |
| 2019 | Dean Lewis |
| 2020 | Toni Watson p.k.a. Tones and I |
| 2021 | Charlton Howard p.k.a. the Kid Laroi |
| 2022 | Genesis Owusu |
| 2023 | Sampa Tembo p.k.a. Sampa The Great |

### Awards for Most Performed Works

There are a number of awards given for most performed work based on a statistical analysis of APRA's database. These awards include "Most Performed Australian Work of the Year", "Most Performed Australian Work Overseas", "Most Performed Foreign Work", "Most Performed Jazz Work", "Most Performed Country Work" and "Most Performed Dance Work".

## Art Music Awards (with AMC)

In 2001, APRA joined forces with the Australian Music Centre (AMC) to present awards for Australian classical music, known as Classical Music Awards. The AMC had been presenting annual awards for classical music since 1988, apart from a 1993–1995 hiatus due to funding cuts. The participation of APRA helped to secure the future of the awards, which are the only Australian awards for contemporary Australian classical music. This award has been won by well-known composers including Brenton Broadstock, Brett Dean, Ross Edwards, Georges Lentz, Liza Lim, Richard Mills, and Peter Sculthorpe. After another hiatus in 2010, the event returned as the Art Music Awards the following year, restructured and with two new categories.
The awards now cover classical, jazz and improvised music, experimental music and sound art, recognising achievement in composition, performance, education and presentation. As of 2020 the current award structure recognises eleven annual awards and Luminary Awards for sustained contribution (nationally and for each state and territory) in Australian art music. There is also a discretionary award, The Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music.

### Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music

Originally named The Distinguished Services to Australian Music Award, from 2019 it was renamed in honour of Australian conductor and educator Richard Gill (1941 – 2018). It is determined by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors and the Australian Music Centre Board for a lifetime contribution to the art music community.
| Year | Winner |
| 2002 | Richard Meale |
| 2003 | Robert Hughes |
| 2004 | Miriam Hyde |
| 2005 | Anne Boyd |
| 2006 | Musica Viva Australia |
| 2007 | Belinda Webster |
| 2008 | Judy Bailey |
| 2009 | Michael Kieran Harvey |
| 2010 | No Awards |
| 2011 | John Hopkins Patrick Thomas |
| 2012 | Peter Sculthorpe |
| 2013 | George Dreyfus |
| 2014 | Richard Gill |
| 2015 | Larry Sitsky |
| 2016 | Helen Gifford |
| 2017 | John Pochée |
| 2018 | Robyn Holmes |
| 2019 | The Necks |
| 2020 | Ros Bandt |
| 2021 | Penny Lomax Maureen Cooney |
| 2022 | Nigel Butterley |
| 2023 | William Barton |
| 2024 | Lyn Williams |

## Screen Music Awards (with AGSC)

The annual Screen Music Awards were first presented in 2002 by APRA and AMCOS in conjunction with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). The ceremony, held in November, acknowledges excellence and innovation in the field of screen composition, and as of 2019 covers 13 categories.

### 2002 Awards

    International Achievement Award – David Hirschfelder
    Best Feature Film Score – Alan John for The Bank
    Best Soundtrack Album – Paul Kelly, Mairead Hannan, Kev Carmody, John Romeril, Deirdre Hannan and Alice Garner for One Night the Moon

### 2003 Awards

    International Achievement Award – Bruce Smeaton
    Best Feature Film Score – Nigel Westlake for The Nugget
    Best Soundtrack Album – Cezary Skubiszewski for After the Deluge

### 2004 Awards

    International Achievement Award – Lisa Gerrard
    Best Feature Film Score – Elizabeth Drake for Japanese Story
    Best Soundtrack Album – Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon and Richard Tognetti for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

### 2005 Awards

    International Achievement Award – Bruce Rowland
    Best Feature Film Score – Ben Ely, Matthew Fitzgerald, Tom Schutzinger and Peter Kelly (Decoder Ring) for Somersault
    Best Soundtrack Album – Roger Mason for The Extra

### 2006 Awards

    International Achievement Award – Peter Best
    Best Feature Film Score – Francois Tetaz for Wolf Creek
    Best Soundtrack Album – David Bridie, Albert David and Kadu for RAN: Remote Area Nurse

### 2007 Awards

    International Achievement Award – The Wiggles
    Best Feature Film Score – Nigel Westlake for Miss Potter
    Best Soundtrack Album – Nigel Westlake for Miss Potter

### 2008 Awards

    International Achievement Award – Garry McDonald and Laurie Stone
    Best Feature Film Score – David Hirschfelder for Children of the Silk Road
    Best Soundtrack Album – Michael Yezerski for The Black Balloon
    Best Music for a Short Film - Geoffrey Russell for Noir Drive

### 2009 Awards

    International Achievement Award – Guy Gross
    Best Feature Film Score – Lisa Gerrard for Balibo
    Best Soundtrack Album – Cezary Skubiszewski for Death Defying Acts

### 2010 Awards

    Best Feature Film Score – Christopher Gordon for Mao's Last Dancer
    Best Soundtrack Album – Christopher Gordon for Mao's Last Dancer

### 2011 Awards

    Best Feature Film Score – Jed Kurzel for Snowtown
    Best Soundtrack Album – Rafael May for Road Train

### 2012 Awards

    Best Feature Film Score – Lisa Gerrard for Burning Man
    Best Soundtrack Album – Michael Lira / Jono Ma / Antony Partos / Irine Vela for The Slap

### 2023 Screen Music Award Winners

    Best Feature Film Score - Benjamin Speed for The Portable Door
    Best Soundtrack Album - Nigel Westlake for Blueback

### 2024 Screen Music Awards
## Other awards
### Emily Burrows Award

The Emily Burrows Award was instituted in 2001 in memory of Emily Burrows, a former APRA AMCOS membership representative and compliance officer. It is awarded to a South Australian artist or band annually with a $5,000 prize, to further their development and career. Electric Fields won it in 2016, with previous winners including Hilltop Hoods and The Beards, Dead Roo, and Ollie English
In 2019 the prize was awarded at the South Australian Music Awards (SAM Awards) for the first time, with Dead Roo winning the Award. Seabass were presented with the award at the SAM Awards in 2020, and Tilly Tjala Thomas won it in 2021. Thomas sings in both Nukunu language and English, with her single "Ngana Nyunyi" sung in both. She won triple j Unearthed's NIMAs competition, giving her the opportunity to play at the National Indigenous Music Awards in 2021.
In 2023, Indigenous hip hop band from the APY lands, DEM MOB, won the award.

### Top 30 Australian Songs (2001 only)

As part of its 75th anniversary celebrations in 2001, APRA created a list of the top 30 Australian songs. A panel of 100 music personalities were asked to list the ten best Australian songs, the data was compiled and the Top Ten in numerical order, was announced at the 2001 APRA Music Awards ceremony. At the ceremony You Am I performed the #1 listed song "Friday on My Mind" with Ross Wilson performing the #2 listed song "Eagle Rock". The next 20 songs in the Top 30 had been announced four weeks earlier.