Claudia Karvan and Ayesha Madon will join Collins at the Fortitude Music Hall ceremony, celebrating Australian screen composition across 16 categories.

The Screen Music Awards will return to Brisbane for a second consecutive year, with Rob Collins set to host the 2026 ceremony at Fortitude Music Hall on Oct. 28.

Presented by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers, the annual awards recognise Australian composers working across film, television, documentaries, children’s programming, advertising, video games and other screen formats.

Collins will be joined by guest presenters Claudia Karvan and Ayesha Madon, while composer and performer Erkki Veltheim returns for his final year as music director. Veltheim will lead a live orchestra performing selections from nominated works during the ceremony.

This year’s Screen Music Awards also form part of APRA’s centenary celebrations, marking 100 years of the organisation representing and supporting Australian songwriters and composers.

“For 100 years, APRA has existed to celebrate and support the people behind the music, and the Screen Music Awards are an integral part of that,” APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston said.

“Australian screen composers help shape the stories we remember long after the credits roll, and we’re thrilled to return to Brisbane to honour the outstanding creators helping our nation’s stories resonate here and around the world.”

Australian Guild of Screen Composers president Amanda Brown offered a somewhat more colourful assessment of the annual gathering.

“Once a year, creatures of the studio emerge from their sonic caves to socialise and rejoice in the recognition of their creative fruits,” Brown said. “I look forward to acknowledging and celebrating the talent, imagination and expertise of all my colleagues who contribute so much to the screen industry both locally and internationally.”

Awards will be presented across 16 categories, including Feature Film Score of the Year, Best Music for a Television Drama, Best Music for a Television Comedy, Best Music for a Documentary, Best Original Song Composed for the Screen and Best Soundtrack Album.

The awards also recognise work increasingly important to composers outside traditional film and television, with categories for video games and other interactive media, advertising and unscripted or reality television.

Most categories are determined by panels of Australian screen composers, while the Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen Award and Emerging Screen Composer of the Year are selected by the APRA Board of Directors.

Two categories — Most Performed Screen Composer in Australia and Most Performed Screen Composer Overseas — are determined through statistical analysis.

Previous Screen Music Awards recipients include Antonio Gambale, Ayda Akbal, Cornel Wilczek, Fred Leone, Joff Bush, Meg Washington and Missy Higgins.

Nominees for the 2026 awards will be announced Sept. 22.

The 2026 Screen Music Awards will take place at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 28.