The composers behind the music of Australian screens took centre stage in Brisbane on Wednesday evening, 28 October, as the 2026 Screen Music Awards honoured excellence across 16 categories. Presented by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, the ceremony at Fortitude Music Hall celebrated the scores, songs and soundtracks that give film, television and games their emotional voice.
The night belonged to West Australian composers Josh Hogan and Ned Beckley, who won all four categories in which they were nominated for their work on the ABC children’s animation series Tales from Outer Suburbia, adapted from Sean Tan’s short stories. Their haul covered Best Music for Children’s Programming, Best Opening Title Television Theme and Best Soundtrack Album, plus Best Original Song Composed for the Screen for “Nothing Stays the Same”, written with composer Joni Hogan.
A night of familiar names and first-time winners
Longtime collaborators Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks extended one of the awards’ great runs, taking Most Performed Screen Composer in Australia for the 12th time for their work on MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules and Travel Guides. They also won Most Performed Screen Composer overseas, for Con Girl, Lego Masters and Married at First Sight, and shared Best Music for an Unscripted or Reality Television Series for Million Dollar Secret with a team of fellow composers.
Helena Czajka won Best Music for a Documentary for a second consecutive year, this time for Sentient, a documentary examining animal welfare in laboratory research. In the drama category, Antony Partos won for his score for The Artful Dodger, taking his career tally at the awards to 19. Adelaide composer Christopher Larkin won Best Music for a Video Game or Other Interactive Media for Hollow Knight: Silksong, the follow-up to the internationally acclaimed 2017 game.
Film score and emerging talent honoured
The contested Feature Film Score of the Year award went to Piers Burbrook de Vere and first-time winner Rose Mackenzie-Peterson for the romantic comedy Addition. Tasmanian composer Finn Clarke was named Emerging Screen Composer of the Year, and also received two return domestic flights from Virgin Australia Business Flyer to support the next step in his career.
Among the other first-time winners, Benjamin Lam won Best Music for an Advertisement for Lego – Project Vehicles, Nicholas Gardiner won Best Music for a Short Film for Trading Cards, and Georgina Darvidis, Matthew Sheers and Peter Corrigan won Best Music for a Television Comedy for The Witchy Girls.
A lifetime of screen music recognised
The evening’s Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen award honoured legendary screen composer Cezary Skubiszewski, recognising a body of work spanning more than 30 years. Film producer Nelson Woss, with whom Skubiszewski collaborated on the soundtrack for the much-loved Australian film Red Dog, presented the award after a standing ovation.
Actor and singer Rob Collins hosted the ceremony, alongside guest presenters Claudia Karvan and Ayesha Madon. In his final year as Music Director, composer and performer Erkki Veltheim led a live orchestra through selections from the nominated works, bringing the screen to life on stage.
FAKTA
- The 2026 Screen Music Awards were presented on Wednesday evening, 28 October, at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, across 16 categories.
- Josh Hogan and Ned Beckley won four awards for Tales from Outer Suburbia: Best Music for Children’s Programming, Best Opening Title Television Theme, Best Soundtrack Album, and Best Original Song Composed for the Screen for “Nothing Stays the Same” with Joni Hogan.
- Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks won Most Performed Screen Composer in Australia for the 12th time, plus the overseas equivalent and Best Music for an Unscripted or Reality Television Series for Million Dollar Secret.
- Feature Film Score of the Year went to Piers Burbrook de Vere and Rose Mackenzie-Peterson for Addition; Helena Czajka won Best Music for a Documentary for a second straight year, for Sentient.
- Finn Clarke was named Emerging Screen Composer of the Year; Cezary Skubiszewski received the Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen award for more than 30 years of work.
- Rob Collins hosted the ceremony, with guest presenters Claudia Karvan and Ayesha Madon, and Erkki Veltheim leading a live orchestra in his final year as Music Director.
Conclusion
From a children’s animation that swept four categories to a lifetime achievement honour, the 2026 Screen Music Awards showed how much of a screen story is told in sound. The winners span children’s television, documentary, drama, games and film — a reminder that behind almost every memorable scene stands a composer.
