PRESS RELEASE: FIRST NATIONS WOMEN AT THE CENTRE OF THE 2025 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN MUSIC AWARDS
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 OCTOBER, 2025
FIRST NATIONS WOMEN AT THE CENTRE OF THE 2025 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN IN MUSIC AWARDS
The 2025 Australian Women in Music Awards co-hosted by Australian broadcaster and author Yumi Stynes and rising star, operatic soprano Nina Korbe, paid tribute this evening to First Nations women living in remote Australia,
established and emerging artists, photographers and filmmakers, producers and techs and all those working behind the scenes.
Over 450 industry and community leaders, artists and dignitaries gathered at Brisbane’s premiere live music venue, The Fortitude Music Hall with performances by Aylish Ryan, Babyshakes Dillon, ixaras, Kate Miller-Heidke, Missy Higgins, Sarah McLeod, Arrkula Yinbayarra (Together We Sing) with Dr Shellie Morris AO, Donna Simpson & Vikki Thorn of The Waifs.
A total of 21 awards were bestowed, with Dr Shellie Morris AO picking up three AWMAs including the Universal Music Australia Lifetime Achievement Award, whilst the late and much loved Ruby Hunter was posthumously inducted into the 2025 AWMA Honour Roll, alongside Dame Olivia Newton-John AC, DBE; Renée Geyer; Dame Joan Sutherland OM, AC, DBE; and last year’s inductee Patricia ‘Little Pattie’ Amphlett OAM, and others.
The inaugural recipients of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Cultural Legacy award went to cultural songwomen Arrkula Yinbayarra & Dr Shellie Morris. Established this year in response to the 50th anniversary NAIDOC theme; The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy to recognise and encourage First Nations women and their contributions to the music industry.
Dignitaries and high profile guests in attendance included the Honourable Queensland Minister for the Arts JP Langbroek MP, the Honourable NSW Minister for the Arts John Graham MP, Senator Sarah Hanson Young, Councillor Vicky Howard for Brisbane City Council, the honourable Justice Anthe Philippides, ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd, AWMA Patron Little ‘Pattie’ Amphlett and ‘John JC Collins AO Queensland Night-Life Economy Commissioner.
The Governor General her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC announced her patronage of Australian Women in Music with a small message read on the night acknowledging the unprecedented advocacy of Founding Executive Producer Vicki Gordon, her exceptional production team and dedicated Board of Directors to addressing gender equality in the Australian Music Industry.
Founding Executive Producer and Program Director Vicki Gordon said:
“With the ever building community who gather at our events, Australian Women in Music continues to be a powerful cultural platform to ensure gender equality is at the centre of every aspect of the Australian music industry. We pay tribute to the many among us and those who have gone before us, who have fought for safety, for opportunity, for creative excellence and the freedom to express the deepest truths of ourselves.”
A spokesperson for the Queensland Government congratulated the winners and nominees across the 21 award categories.
Minister for Women, Women’s Economic Security, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multiculturalism Fiona Simpson said the Crisafulli Government was a proud supporter of women and girls across Queensland.
“I want to congratulate all of the incredibly talented nominees and winners of the 2025 Australian Women in Music Awards,” Minister Simpson said.
“Music is more than entertainment as it has the creative power to share stories using people’s unique gifts from diverse backgrounds.
“Empowering women means hearing their voices across Queensland, which this initiative showcases by celebrating their success.”
Among this year’s recipients, the Inspiration Award has gone to Donna Simpson & Vikki Thorn from The Waifs, the folk-rock trio formed with Josh Cunningham more than 30 years ago. They have both been writing, touring and performing their music non-stop both nationally and internationally since their inception in 1992. Over the last few years they have undertaken numerous national tours which they continue to sell out and are regulars at many of the well known Australian festivals.
And the Ethical Engagement Consultancy Humanitarian Award has gone to Tina Broad who, thirty years ago, began a deep commitment to create a vibrant musical life, for “myself, my little family, and for others”. During that time, Tina has run two complex, challenging, and rewarding national programs while based in regional Australia: Music Play for Life (2004-2012) (2) and SongMakers (2012-2023). In both programs, Tina drew on her lived experience as a regional creative to prioritise outreach to schools and teachers outside metropolitan areas and engage artists and mentors based outside the cities too.
Missy Higgins took out the APRA AMCOS Songwriter Award. After winning the coveted Triple J “Melbourne Unearthed” competition in 2001 while still at high school, Missy has blazed a trail for female singer/songwriters in this country, proving to be an artist of outstanding ability producing a catalogue of critically acclaimed songs. Her seven albums, including 9x platinum debut “The Sound Of White”, have sold well over two million copies worldwide and earned her 26 ARIA Award nominations and seven ARIA #1’s (so far!). Missy has been nominated for 12 APRA songwriting awards winning Song of the Year and the Breakthrough Award. Missy has also received an APRA Screen Music Award for Best Original Song Composed for the Screen.
The Combined Opera Companies Opera Impact Award went to Nicole Car. As a professional Australian opera singer, Nicole has worked incredibly hard not only to perfect her craft, but to make sure that the younger generation coming through are supported in their journey. The leap from student in Australia to working professionally (either overseas or at home) has been a journey that has led her to work at Opera de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerischer Staatsoper Munich, La Scala Milan, Metropolitan Opera New York, San Francisco Opera, Berlin Deutche Oper, Royal Opera House London, and, of course, Opera Australia.
Grace Chia was awarded the SSI Diversity in Music Award. Grace is a Chinese-Australian hip-hop/R&B artist based in Lutruwita/Tasmania, blending poetic lyricism with urgent social commentary. Her powerful, highly regarded voice in Australia’s music scene, celebrated for her genre-defying sound and her transformative contributions to cultural diversity and inclusion. Grace’s work explores themes of identity, race, gender equity, and mental health, delivered with vulnerability and political insight. Her albums – Marsapollo (2023), Himalaya (2024), and Undulation of a Healing Heart (2025) – demonstrate her continuing mastery as a songwriter and cultural storyteller.
Katia Geha took out the City of Gold Coast Emerging Artist Award. Katia is an Australian-Lebanese composer currently based in Basel, Switzerland, where she is pursuing a Masters degree in Composition and Music Theory at the Musik-Akademie Basel under the mentorship of Professor Johannes Kreidler. Katia’s artistic practice is rooted in experimental performance art music, with a particular focus on conceptually rigorous frameworks that challenge both performers and audiences to engage critically with pressing social and political paradigms. This year, Katia’s work was internationally recognised when she was awarded first prize in the prestigious Engine Room International Sound Art Competition in London.
The Tina Arena Special Impact Award, went to Kylie Thompson, who is the Managing Director of Sorrento Strategic Music, a specialist accounting and advisory firm she founded 27 years ago after more than a decade in professional services. Over the years, Kylie has actively contributed to the industry through mentorship and volunteering, including work with WA Music Workshops, APRA Tax Time Talks, Propel Youth Arts, JB Seed’s Future Makers Workshop, WAMCon, and Changes Festival, and has supported thousands of artists from the ground up, including Tame Impala, Spinning Top Music, Pond, and Spacey Jane. Over the past three years, Kylie has supported several female-led initiatives aligned with equity, empowerment, and sustainability through pro bono advisory work, mentoring, and sponsorship.
Kimberley Galceran was awarded the Collarts Creative Leadership Award. In her current role as Dark Mofo Music Director, she has had the privilege and creative freedom to curate bold and progressive programs that showcase some of the most exciting female, gender-diverse, and culturally diverse artists from Australia and the world. Her specialisation lies in modern and alternative genres of music – including noise, electronic, metal, dark wave, IDM, trap, hardcore, post-rock and art-pop. Kimberley represents a wide range of female, gender-diverse, queer, and culturally distinct creators, and was previously Head of Touring for Bluesfest, promoting tours for influential female artists including Patti Smith, Morcheeba, Mary J. Blige, Bonnie Raitt, and more, championing women across blues, country, pop, jazz, and folk, and proud to bring globally recognised names to Australia, while equally committed to uplifting Australian, emerging and independent artists.
Vicki Gordon paid tribute to the 49-seat AWMA Juror Council, led by Juror Chair Dr Diana Tolmie, and congratulated all of this year’s nominees and finalists for their contribution. She acknowledged the Queensland Government whose foresight to support AWMA since the inaugural event in 2018 has ensured AWMA continues to exist today.
The AWMA Conference preceding the Awards, on 8 October 2025 featured an ‘In Conversation’ with live music and entertainment photographer ‘on wheels’, Brittany Long and Heavy Music Journalist Tiana Speter sharing the challenges and triumphs that have shaped her career, her vision for a truly barrier-free live music scene, and the evolving role visual storytelling plays in redefining representation – back stage, front of house, on and off the stage.
Other topics included Juju Munjimunjina Jangkurr (‘Words From Deep In The Bush’), – a powerful conversation centring on remote First Nations women in music, storytelling and cultural leadership; ‘The Young And The Restless’, amplifying the voices and visions of young female and gender diverse creatives shaping the future of music; ‘Balancing The Mix – challenging gender norms in audio and tech’; and ‘Leading Through Disruption’, examining gender equity in the music industry.
2025 AWMA Recipients
Milestone Creative Australia Filmmaker Award
Emily Dynes
Hotel X Music Photographer Award
Suzanne Phoenix
Brisbane City Council Music Journalist Award
Jules LeFevre
Tina Arena Special Impact Award
Kylie Thompson
Excellence in Classical Music Award
Catherine Milliken
SSI Diversity in Music Award
Grace Chia
Oztix Women in Heavy Music Award
Monica Strut
Collarts Creative Leadership Award
Kimberley Galceran
APRA AMCOS Songwriter Award
Missy Higgins
City of Gold Coast Emerging Artist Award
Katia Geha
Opera Impact Award
Nicole Car
Creative Technical Solutions Live Creative Production Award
Kate Berry
Australian Women in Music Studio Production Award
Tahlia-Rose Coleman
The Fortitude Music Hall Live Production Touring Award
Letisha Ackland
Sony Music Australia Artistic Excellence Award
Dr Shellie Morris AO
Ethical Engagement Consultancy Humanitarian Award
Tina Broad
ARIA Executive Leader Award
Nicole Richards
ALH Hotels Music Leadership Award
Fiona Duncan
Australian Women in Music Inspiration Award
Donna Simpson & Vikki Thorn of the Waifs
Universal Music Australia Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr Shellie Morris AO
Inaugural Australian Women in Music
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Cultural Legacy Award
Arrkula Yinbayarra (Together We Sing)
with Dr Shellie Morris AO
2025 Honour Roll Inductee (Posthumous)
Ruby Hunter
womeninmusicawards.com.au
#AWMA2025
– ENDS –
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Australian Women in Music Awards & Conference Program is made possible with support from the Queensland Government and is assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and the Office of the Arts. AWMA is proudly sponsored by Brisbane City Council, the City of Gold Coast, and is supported by corporate, industry, and community partners.
For interview opportunities with Vicki Gordon, Founding Executive Producer & Program Director, please contact publicist Josie Gagliano at [email protected] or 0411 234 022
Notes and links for Editors:
AWMA 2025 Finalists: https://womeninmusicawards.com.au/2025-recipients-and-finalists/
AWMA Website: womeninmusicawards.com.au
MEDIA ASSETS:
Link to authorised images for media use HERE: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KS_1_t8tJfvKr9m7LkTXx8SoUeDdKLkT?usp=sharing
AWMA Board: womeninmusicawards.com.au/awm-board/
Instagram: instagram.com/womeninmusicaus
Facebook: facebook.com/AWMAAwards/
TikTok: tiktok.com/@womeninmusicaus
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@australianwomeninmusicawar4945
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/australianwomeninmusic/
#AWMA2025 #AustralianWomenInMusicAwards #AustralianWomenInMusic #AWMA #WomenInMusicAus
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
About AWMA
Led by highly respected music producer Vicki Gordon, the AWMA team is made up of experts with extensive experience in the production of large-scale event management, digital media, strategic planning and development. AWMA is overseen by a Board of Directors with extensive experience in the arts and the music industry, accountancy, community engagement, not-for-profit governance, stakeholder engagement and law.
The mission of AWM is HERE: https://womeninmusicawards.com.au/mission-statement/
Download the AWMA Legacy 2018-2024 HERE: https://womeninmusicawards.com.au/our-legacy/
