2026 AIDC AWARDS & SOUTHERN LIGHT AWARD NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS
RECOGNISING OUTSTANDING NEW AUSTRALIAN STORYTELLING AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE SECTOR
SUBMISSIONS & NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN
Submissions and nominations are now open for the 6th annual AIDC Awards and 3rd annual Southern Light Award, with a presentation to be held on the closing night of AIDC 2026, Thursday 5 March 2026, at ACMI in Melbourne / Naarm.
The only dedicated awards for Australian documentary and factual production, the prestigious AIDC Awards recognise the exceptional talent and expertise of Australian content creators across long and short-form documentary and factual content, as well as audio documentary and documentary storytelling through new and emerging media.
The AIDC Awards celebrate outstanding completed works of new nonfiction content across six categories:
- Best Feature Documentary
- Best Documentary/Factual Series
- Best Documentary/Factual Single
- Best Short-Form Documentary
- Best Audio Documentary
- Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary (including web documentaries/series)
AIDC Awards submissions for consideration close:
- Sunday 16 November 2025 (or Sunday 23 November 2025 with late fee) for Features and Series
- Sunday 30 November 2025 (or Sunday 7 December 2025 with late fee) for Singles, Shorts, Audio and Interactive/Immersive documentaries.
AIDC 2025 AWARDS HOST MELISSA LEONG | PHOTO BY MAX ROUX
PRIOR AIDC AWARDS WINNERS
Prior winners of AIDC Awards include some of the most significant and engaging productions to emerge from the Australian industry in the last four years.
Best Feature Documentary
Left Write Hook (2025), This Is Going To Be Big (2024), Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow (2023), I’m Wanita (2022), The Australian Dream (2021)
Best Documentary/Factual Series
Stuff the British Stole Series 2 (2025) Never Let Him Go (2024), The Australian Wars (2023), See What You Made Me Do (2022), Miriam Margolyes Almost Australian (2021)
Best Documentary/Factual Single
Tough Not Toxic (2025), Rebel With a Cause: Oodgeroo Noonuccal (2024), Still We Rise (2023), Our African Roots (2022), Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky (2021)
Best Short-Form Documentary
Mahika Kai (2025) Marungka tjalatjunu (Dipped in black) (2024), Eden Alone Surpasses Thee (2023), Freedom Swimmer (2022), My Body Says (2021)
Best Audio Documentary
This is not a Game (2025), House of Skulls (2024), The Greatest Menace: Inside the Gay Prison Experiment (2023), Tender: Roia Atmar (2022), The Eleventh (2021)
Best Interactive/Immersive Documentary
Las Awichas (2025), Turbulence: Jamais Vu (2024), Night Creatures (2023), Gondwana (2022), Mt Resilience (2021)
TEAM FROM ‘LEFT WRITE HOOK’ | PHOTO BY MAX ROUX
TEAM FROM ‘TOUGH NOT TOXIC’ | PHOTO BY MAX ROUX
SOUTHERN LIGHT AWARD
Nominations are also open for the AIDC Southern Light Award, a $5,000 cash prize given by AIDC to an Australian industry professional for their outstanding contribution to the field.
Current AIDC members can make nominations via a short form on the AIDC Southern Light Award web page. The winner is decided via secret ballot by the AIDC Board of Directors.
Prior recipients include award-winning producer and factual television trailblazer, Karina Holden (2024), Head of Factual at Northern Pictures, and co-founder and managing director of Artemis Media, Celia Tait (2025).
The Southern Light Award debuted in 2024 and expanded the scope of the long-running AIDC Stanley Hawes Award (presented from 1997 – 2023).
Southern Light Award nominations close Sunday 14 December 2025 (nomination conditions apply).
Note: Nominees must be nominated by a current AIDC member. A current AIDC member is anyone who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident who attended AIDC 2025 or has purchased an AIDC Membership in the last 12 months.
2025 SOUTHERN LIGHT AWARD RECIPIENT CELIA TAIT | PHOTO BY MAX ROUX
Celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Australian documentary and factual creators
“There is no doubt that documentary and factual storytellers are facing particularly unique and challenging times,” acknowledges AIDC CEO / Creative Director, Natasha Gadd.
“Now more than ever is the moment to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Australian nonfiction craft and the bold creators continuing to bring us stories on every topic imaginable – and also those hard to imagine. We look forward to seeing the breadth and diversity of projects across all of the categories and shining a spotlight on exceptional works of the past year at the 2026 AIDC Awards.”
AIDC CEO / CREATIVE DIRECTOR NATASHA GADD | PHOTO BY MAX ROUX
SUBMISSION DEADLINES
Submissions for 2026 AIDC Awards categories are open now, and will close Sunday 16 November 2025 (or Sunday 23 November 2025 with late fee) for Features and Series; and Sunday 30 November (or Sunday 7 December with a late fee) for Single, Short, Audio & Interactive/Immersive documentaries.
Visit the AIDC Awards page for more information regarding category criteria and guidelines and to submit a project. Each category is assessed by an independent jury comprising experts in their field.
Nominations for the 2026 Southern Light Award are also open, and will close Sunday 14 December 2025. To learn more about the award eligibility criteria and the nomination process, visit the Southern Light Award page.
The 2026 AIDC Awards Presentation will take place on Thursday 5 March 2026, the closing night of AIDC 2026, and feature an address by the winner of 2026 Southern Light Award.
A first look at the AIDC 2026 program, including the announcement of key international speakers and industry guests, will be released on Wednesday 29 October 2025.
DUAL 2025 AIDC AWARD-WINNER MARC FENNEL | PHOTO BY MELISSA BUTTERS