With four victories, Josh Hogan and Ned Beckley were the big winners Wednesday night (Oct. 28) at the 2026 Screen Music Awards, presented at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall.
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The West Australian composers were honored for their output on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s animated kid’s series Tales from Outer Suburbia, taking home best music for children’s programming, best opening title television theme and best soundtrack album, as well as best original song composed for the screen alongside composer Joni Hogan.
It was a perfect night for the pair, as they snagged all four categories they were nominated for.
There were multiple donut-shaped awards, too, for Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks, who bagged most performed screen composer – Australia for the 12th time for their work on MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules and Travel Guides; plus most performed screen composer – overseas for Con Girl, Lego Masters and Married at First Sight; and best music for unscripted or reality television series for Million Dollar Secret alongside fellow composers Adam Sofo, Brontë Horder, Cassie To, David Bruggemann, Lydia Davies, Mitch Stewart and Rory Chenoweth.
Helena Czajka went back-to-back in the best music for a documentary category, winning for Sentient, while Finn Clarke scooped emerging screen composer of the year. Benjamin Lam, Nicholas Gardiner, Georgina Darvidis, Matthew Sheers and Peter Corrigan were among the first-time winners.
As previously reported, Cezary Skubiszewski was feted with the distinguished services to the Australian screen award, in recognition of his impressive body of work spanning more than 30 years. Following a standing ovation, the prolific Polish music man was presented with the award by film producer Nelson Woss, with whom he collaborated on the soundtrack for Red Dog.
An initiative of APRA AMCOS (APRA this year celebrates its 100th anniversary) and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), the annual event celebrates excellence and innovation in screen composition across 16 categories, praising outstanding contributions in short film, television series, documentaries, children’s programming, feature films and more.
If music for the screen was the reason behind the celebration, artificial intelligence and the career of late, great actor Sam Neill were the themes.
Right now, Australia’s government is considering proposals, pitched by big tech, that would usher in copyright reforms for the purposes of AI training. The creative community has, in a united front, warned those exceptions to the Copyright Act would jeopardize artists’ ability to earn a living.
That message was carried from the stage on several occasions last night, as guests were encouraged to wear badges bearing the statement, “human made.”
“We are here to celebrate what AI cannot do,” remarked The Go-Betweens’ Amanda Brown at the top of proceedings, for what was her first speech as AGSC president. “No matter how much digitized data the technology consumes, it is no substitute for human experience, and it is precisely those experiences that inform our creative work, and for every composer or songwriter, it will be different. Our personal histories and our relationships, our musical obsessions, our mistakes, and our triumphs. The bonds we form with colleagues and our musicians, these are the foundations that bring us together tonight. So let’s celebrate our messy, creative, uniquely human differences and enjoy the music.”
APRA CEO Dean Ormston delivered a history lesson. The very first license APRA issued was to a little town hall on King Island back in 1926. “That license still stands today,” he explained. “The principle behind it hasn’t changed. If someone wants to use your work, they ask you first. And AI doesn’t change that at all. We’ve had the door open to negotiate a license based on permission and payments. And yet, not one major AI platform has walked through it.”
Antony Partos used the platform of his victory speech for winning best music for a television drama (The Artful Dodger (Season 2, Episode 3)) to rally his fellow creators. With the threat of big AI “scraping all music,” he remarked, Australia finds itself “at a crossroads.” Partos seized the moment, shut down the wrap-up cue, and told the full house to sign AGSC’s Change.org petition. “AI can be a source of immense good,” he insisted, “but should be something that is legally sourced from us, creators.”
Hosts on the night were Rob Collins, alongside guest presenters Claudia Karvan and Ayesha Madon, with Erkki Veltheim leading a live orchestra on stage for his final year as music director.
Visit apraamcos.com.au for the full list of winners.
