APRA AMCOS has officially revealed the finalists for the 2026 Professional Development Awards, and the list is stacked.
A total of 61 songwriters and composers from across the country have been shortlisted, all in the running for one of the most genuinely career-changing prizes in Australian music.
The PDAs are about as practical as awards get. Thirteen recipients will each score $10,000 to put directly towards their craft — whether that’s co-writing sessions, workshops, composer seminars, courses, or heading overseas to level up.
No trophies collecting dust here, just real-world support for artists at every stage of their journey.
This year’s finalists were chosen by a panel of more than 50 industry judges, and by all accounts, the standard was sky-high. Songwriter and producer Danny Harley — aka The Kite String Tangle — said judging the awards for the first time was equal parts inspiring and daunting.
“The music was of such high calibre,” Harley said, adding that the thought and care put into how artists planned to use the funding really stood out. “It speaks to a music community that’s ambitious, considered and full of potential.”
The finalist list itself reads like a snapshot of where Australian music is right now. There’s pop heavyweight Eliza Hull, country favourites Queenie and Max Jackson, and psych-rocker Zeppelin Hamilton from Velvet Trip and KYARNA, sitting alongside screen composer Darren Lim, tar player Hamed Sadeghi, and classical composer Jasmin Wing-Yin Leung. Emerging names and established creatives are mixed in together, which is kind of the whole point.
If history is anything to go by, the PDAs have a strong track record of backing future mainstays. Previous recipients include Angie McMahon, Baker Boy, BARKAA, Gotye, Ngaiire, RVG, Miss Kaninna and Yirrmal, to name just a few.
Winners will be announced on Thursday 12 February 2026, but you don’t have to wait to start listening. A playlist featuring tracks from this year’s finalists is live now on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music, and it’s well worth a scroll if you want a sense of what’s bubbling across the country.
Check out the full 2026 APRA Professional Development Award finalists:
Classical/Experimental
Eduardo Cossio
Gabriella Smart
Jasmin Wing-Yin Leung
Lizzy Welsh
Thea Rossen
Country/Americana
Dylan Ollivierre
Max Jackson
Queenie
Soren Walker (Sweet Talk)
Tori Darke
Dance/Electronic
Andy Garvey
Dugong Jr
Fatshaudi
Rromarin
Savannah Osei (Kinder)
Hip Hop/Rap
Chandler Jewels
JJ4K
Kwasi
Yawdoesitall
Zafty
Jazz/Improvised Music
Hamed Sadeghi
Hayley Chan
Jacques Emery
Mina Yu
Yutaro Okuda
Music Theatre
Jules Orcullo – My Dad Never Saw The Beatles
Lincoln Elliott – Artefact
Lucy O’Brien – Adventurers
Max McKenna – Creating Ivy
Tim Hansen – Murder Horse
Popular Contemporary (2 awards)
Annie Hamilton
Babitha
bella amor
Chitra
Don Glori
Eliza Hull
Grace Woodroofe
Lucy Sugerman
REDD.
Ruby Gill
R&B/Soul
Adrian Dzvuke
Ella Thompson
Rita Satch
Setwun
TANISHA
Screen Composition
Cassie Parke
Carla Dobbie
Darren Lim
Josie Mann
Paul Nicolaou
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander General (2 awards)
Alyssa Skye
Boox Kid
DJ PGZ
Emma Sibosado (Saltwater Kin)
Ethan Waters
J-MILLA
Jarulah Slabb
Keely
KYARNA
Zeppelin Hamilton (Velvet Trip)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Senior
deborahN
Linc Yow Yeh (The Deans of Soul)
Mia Lovelock
Russell Smith
Toni Janke
More info on thnomin APRA 2026 Professional Development Awards here.
