Nominations have opened for the 2026 AIR Awards, with the Australian Independent Record Labels Association marking two decades of celebrating Australia’s independent music sector and introducing changes to its dance and electronic categories.
The 20th edition of the awards will be held on Thursday 30 July 2026 at Adelaide Town Hall, set in Australia’s only UNESCO-designated City of Music. AIR members are invited to nominate eligible releases issued between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025, with entries closing at 5.00 pm AEDT on Friday 13 March 2026.
To reflect the cultural reach and international profile of Australian dance and electronic music, AIR has expanded and refined its categories for the coming year. A new Best Independent Dance/Club Single award will recognise standout standalone singles in club and dance genres, including house, techno, trance, drum and bass, garage and related styles, with eligibility requiring DJ servicing. Alongside this sits Best Independent Electronic Single, aimed at electronic releases that are not solely dance or club focused.
In line with these changes, the former Best Independent Dance or Electronica Album or EP has been renamed Best Independent Electronic Album or EP. The adjustments are intended to better capture the breadth of electronic music being made and released by independent Australian artists, while acknowledging the role of clubs, DJs and festivals in shaping the genre’s reach at home and overseas.
The full list of categories for the 2026 AIR Awards spans genres and industry roles, from Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year through to Independent Song of the Year, marketing, production, engineering and an Outstanding Achievement Award sponsored by Merlin.
Since the awards began, more than 250 honours have been presented, often providing early industry recognition for artists who later build national and international careers. Past nominees and winners include Amyl and the Sniffers, Genesis Owusu, Courtney Barnett, Flume, Sampa the Great, G Flip, A.B Original, King Stingray and Confidence Man, among many others.
As the awards reach their 20th event, the focus remains on recognising the artists, labels and professionals shaping the next chapter of Australian independent music. The 2026 program will sit alongside AIR’s Indie-Con Australia Conference and A2IM’s Indie Week Australian Edition Conference, running from 29 to 31 July at the Mercury Cinema and Nexus Arts in Adelaide, with early bird tickets due to go on sale later this month.
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