Western Australian composers Josh Hogan and Ned Beckley emerged as the standout winners at the 2026 Screen Music Awards, securing four honours at the ceremony held on Wednesday, October 28, at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane.
The pair were recognised for their work on Tales from Outer Suburbia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's animated children's series, winning awards for best music for children's programming, best opening title television theme and best soundtrack album. They also shared the award for best original song composed for the screen with fellow composer Joni Hogan.
Their success marked a clean sweep of all four categories in which they received nominations, placing the composers among the night's most celebrated honourees.
Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks also enjoyed a strong showing, extending their record of achievement in screen composition. The duo won most performed screen composer – Australia for the 12th time, recognising their work on television programmes including MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules and Travel Guides.
They also claimed most performed screen composer – overseas for their contributions to Con Girl, Lego Masters and Married at First Sight. In addition, they shared the award for best music for an unscripted or reality television series for Million Dollar Secret, alongside Adam Sofo, Brontë Horder, Cassie To, David Bruggemann, Lydia Davies, Mitch Stewart and Rory Chenoweth.
Helena Czajka secured consecutive victories in the best music for a documentary category, winning this year's award for Sentient, while Finn Clarke was named emerging screen composer of the year.
Among the other notable winners were Benjamin Lam, Nicholas Gardiner, Georgina Darvidis, Matthew Sheers and Peter Corrigan, who collected awards for the first time.
Skubiszewski honoured for outstanding contribution
A major highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the distinguished services to the Australian screen award to Cezary Skubiszewski in recognition of a career spanning more than three decades.
The Polish-born composer received a standing ovation before film producer Nelson Woss presented the honour. The pair previously collaborated on the soundtrack for Red Dog, one of Skubiszewski's notable screen projects.
The annual Screen Music Awards are organised by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). The event recognises excellence and innovation in screen composition across 16 categories, covering work in television, feature films, documentaries, short films, children's programming and other screen productions.
This year's ceremony also coincided with the centenary of APRA, adding historical significance to an event that celebrates the creative contributions of composers and songwriters to Australia's screen industry.
AI copyright concerns dominate proceedings
While the awards recognised outstanding musical achievements, artificial intelligence and copyright protection emerged as central themes throughout the evening.
The debate comes as the Australian government considers proposals for copyright reforms that could allow technology companies to use protected creative works to train artificial intelligence systems under certain exceptions.
Creative industry representatives have warned that such changes could undermine the livelihoods of musicians, composers and other artists by allowing their work to be used without adequate permission or compensation.
The concerns were reflected in the ceremony's atmosphere, with guests encouraged to wear badges bearing the words “human made” as a statement of support for human creativity and copyright protection.
Amanda Brown of The Go-Betweens, delivering her first address as AGSC president, used the opening proceedings to emphasise the importance of human experience in artistic creation.
“We are here to celebrate what AI cannot do,” she said.
Brown argued that, regardless of how much digitised information artificial intelligence systems consume, technology cannot replace the individual experiences, relationships, musical interests, failures and achievements that shape creative work.
She also highlighted the relationships composers build with their colleagues and musicians, describing these connections and personal histories as fundamental to the creative process.
Her remarks reinforced the industry's broader argument that music composition involves more than processing information: it reflects distinct human experiences and artistic choices that cannot simply be reduced to data.
APRA chief executive Dean Ormston also addressed the issue, drawing a connection between the organisation's century-long history of licensing creative works and the current debate over AI training.
He recalled that APRA issued its first licence to a small town hall on King Island in 1926, noting that the licence remained in force.
“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,” Ormston said.
He added that the organisation had remained open to negotiations with AI companies over licensing arrangements based on permission and payment, but claimed that no major AI platform had accepted the opportunity.
Partos calls on creators to defend their rights
Antony Partos also used his acceptance speech to raise concerns about the potential impact of AI on the music industry after winning best music for a television drama for The Artful Dodger (Season 2, Episode 3).
Warning that large technology companies could scrape vast amounts of music for AI training, Partos said Australia was approaching a critical point in determining how creative works would be protected.
He interrupted the ceremony's wrap-up cue to encourage attendees to sign the AGSC's Change.org petition opposing the proposed copyright exceptions.
“AI can be a source of immense good,” he said, while insisting that its use should be based on material that is legally sourced from creators.
His comments reflected a broader position among creative professionals that artificial intelligence can support innovation, provided its development respects copyright ownership and establishes fair arrangements for using protected works.
The debate has become increasingly significant as governments consider how existing intellectual property laws should apply to AI systems trained on large collections of written, visual and musical material.
For Australia's screen composers, the central concern is whether proposed legal changes would preserve their ability to control the use of their work and earn income from it as AI-generated content becomes more widespread.
Celebrating music and human creativity
The ceremony was hosted by Rob Collins, alongside guest presenters Claudia Karvan and Ayesha Madon. Erkki Veltheim led the live orchestra on stage in his final year as music director.
The event brought together recognition of established composers, emerging talent and contributions to Australia's screen industry, while also providing a platform for debate over the future of creative work.
Although Hogan and Beckley's four-award sweep supplied one of the night's defining achievements, the repeated calls for copyright protection demonstrated that the industry's concerns extend beyond individual accolades.
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into music production and digital entertainment, composers and industry organisations are pressing for arrangements that allow technological innovation while protecting creators' rights, professional livelihoods and the human experiences that underpin artistic expression.