by FilmInk Staff
Recognising outstanding new Australian storytelling and contribution to the sector
Submissions and nominations are now open for the annual AIDC Awards and 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 returns for this sixth year to 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)
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, including This Is Going To Be Big (2024), Stuff the British Stole Series 2 (2025) and Still We Rise (2023).
Now in its third year, the Southern Light Award presents an annual $5,000 cash prize given by AIDC to an Australian industry professional for their outstanding contribution to nonfiction screen, digital and/or audio media.
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).
AIDC Awards category submissions for consideration close on the following dates:
- Features and Series – Sunday 16 November (or Sunday 23 November with late fee)
- Singles, Shorts, Audio and Interactive/Immersive documentaries – Sunday 16 November (or Sunday 23 November with late fee)
- Southern Light Award nominations (nomination conditions apply) – Sunday 14 December 2025
AIDC CEO / Creative Director, Natasha Gadd, said, “There is no doubt that documentary and factual storytellers are facing particularly unique and challenging times. 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 even 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.”
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 the 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. AIDC 2026 will take place 2-5 March 2026 at ACMI and Fed Square in Melbourne / Naarm, followed by an online international marketplace, 11-12 March 2026.
