The inaugural SONARR Awards was held Thursday night in Sydney, hosted by Alexei Toliopoulos and it brought leading names from Australia’s audio industry together for a gala dinner celebrating the year’s best work.
Opening the night, SONARR founder Pariya Taherzadeh said: “We started it because audio in this country needed a fresh look: a new way of seeing it, a new way of being heard, and quite literally, a new way of being recognised. All of that requires us to re-imagine, and we wanted everyone to be part of the re-imagining. Producers, composers, writers, event planners, creators from all walks of life. Podcast, radio, audiobook and voice-over, and all of them are built on the same two things: sound and narrative.”
The awards recognised not only well-known works and people, but also corners of the industry that rarely get a spotlight.
Trophies were presented by representatives from AFTRS, RODE, ABC, RODE, Original Audio, Podcast Workers Australia, Bedou and the Australian Association of Voice Actors (AAVA), alongside independent creators including Farz Edraki and First Nations Gamilaroi, media personality Matty Mills.
The grand award of the night, SONARR of the Year, went to A Cyclone for Christmas by Caddie Brain, produced for the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. SONARR also distributed a $10,000 prize pool, with $5,000 going to the top independent winner, A Cyclone for Christmas, and $5,000 to the top commercial winner, Rhys Gunter, who won the Producer Excellence Award.
Of the 33 awards presented, 22 went to independent creators and 11 to commercial productions. Marc Fennell won four awards: three for No One Saw It Coming with Marc Fennell (ABC Radio National) and the CALD Creator Award. We Used to be Journos (Ette Media) won two, and SBS Audio won two, including Network Excellence.
Some categories were presented with only one or two finalists, because few entries met the bar. One category, Marketing for Audio, received no entries. SONARR acknowledged this openly and invited the industry to submit work for the 2027 awards.
The evening was full of powerful speeches, alongside good food, conversation and networking.
With the inaugural event complete, Australian audio now has an annual occasion to look forward to and to be recognised for a full year of work, to catch up with peers, and to celebrate the late night edits and long hours behind the audio Australians listen to every day.
The SONARR Awards was supported by AFTRS, RODE, Original Audio and AAVA.
Winners:
SOUND pillar
Audio Production Award
Conspiracy: War on the Waterfront – Rewind – ABC Radio National (Radio, Commercial)
Sound Design and Atmosphere Award
A Cyclone for Christmas – Caddie Brain – Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Radio, Indie)
Original Sonic Identity Award
Shortwave – Ian Moorhead – Darwin Festival and ABC Radio Darwin (Radio, Indie)
NARRATIVE pillar
AFTRS Narrative Excellence Award
No One Saw It Coming with Marc Fennell – Marc Fennell – ABC Radio National (Podcast, Commercial)
Audio Drama Award
The Glam Gizmo – Gizmo Verse (Podcast, Indie)
Investigative and Documentary Award
Dear Rachelle – True Crime Australia – News Corp Australia (Podcast, Commercial)
Cultural and Social Insight Award
The Voices of Women Podcast – Lliane Clarke (Podcast, Indie)
News and Public Discourse Award
We Used to be Journos – Ette Media (Podcast, Indie)
Knowledge and Learning Award
No One Saw It Coming with Marc Fennell – Marc Fennell – ABC Radio National (Podcast, Commercial)
STEM Award
Nocturnal Worlds – Audiocraft (Podcast, Indie)
Business and Entrepreneurship Award
Minted Kids with Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon – Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon – F+K Media (Podcast, Indie)
Health and Wellbeing Award
Breaking Taboos: Older Australians Talk About Mental Health – Dr Helene Thomas, Dr Mia Lindgren, Professor Kate Burridge (Podcast, Indie)
Entertainment and Lifestyle Award
The World Cup, But Not Really – SBS Audio (Podcast, Commercial)
Comedy Award
Tony Martin’s Sizzletown – Pots and Pans (Podcast, Indie)
Youth and Family Award
Fluff ’n’ Stuff – Pevan & Sarah (Podcast, Commercial)
Arts and Culture Award
No One Saw It Coming with Marc Fennell – Marc Fennell – ABC Radio National (Podcast, Commercial)
Music Award
Cassette Culture – Martin Franklin (Podcast, Indie)
VOICE pillar
Indie Creator Award
Kyla Brettle (Podcast, Indie)
First Nations Creator Award
Sajarn Stow (Radio, Indie)
Female Creator Award
Julia Rangiheuea (Podcast, Indie)
LGBTQA+ Creator Award
Laura Brierley Newton (Podcast, Indie)
CALD Creator Award
Marc Fennell (Podcast, Indie)
Student Creator Award
Felicity Weaver – AFTRS (Podcast, Indie)
Host / Presenter Excellence Award
Ashlynne McGhee (Podcast, Indie)
Producer Excellence Award
Rhys Gunter (Podcast, Commercial)
Performance / Acting Excellence Award
Colin Cassidy (Voice-Over, Indie)
Network Excellence Award
SBS Audio (Podcast and Radio, Commercial)
IMPACT pillar
Community Wave Maker Award
Soil: Rewilding the Underground – Jessica Hamilton (Podcast, Indie)
Innovation Award
The Dynamic Blood Supply Audio System – NOVA Entertainment and Original Audio – Red Cross Australia: Lifeblood (Radio, Commercial)
Audience Connection Award
We Used to be Journos – Ette Media (Podcast, Indie)
Vision pillar
Video for Audio Award
Wiggle Talk – A Podcast for Parents – The Wiggles (Podcast, Commercial)
Visual Identity Award
Real Made Up Stories – Coequal (Podcast, Indie)
Events for Audio Award
DomeFest – Dome and Finely Tuned (Podcast, Indie)
Top pillar winners
SOUND: A Cyclone for Christmas – Caddie Brain – Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Radio, Indie)
NARRATIVE: Dear Rachelle – True Crime Australia – News Corp Australia (Podcast, Commercial)
VOICE: Rhys Gunter (Podcast, Commercial)
IMPACT: The Dynamic Blood Supply Audio System – NOVA Entertainment and Original Audio – Red Cross Australia: Lifeblood (Radio, Commercial)
VISION: Real Made Up Stories – Coequal (Podcast, Indie)
Cash Prize Winners ($5,000 each)
Independent: A Cyclone for Christmas – Caddie Brain – Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Commercial: Rhys Gunter
SONARR of the Year
A Cyclone for Christmas – Caddie Brain – Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Radio, Indie)
