Australian Audio Awards launched as Mumbrella reveals 2026 events lineup
Introducing... the Australian Audio Awards.
Mumbrella is today announcing the Australian Audio Awards, a must-attend event for the radio, podcasting and audio industry to be held May 2026.
Delivered in partnership with RadioToday and Radioinfo — trade publications focusing on the radio industry — and backed by the Radio Rubber Room Facebook group and the Game Changers Radio podcast, the Australian Audio Awards will recognise excellence in all areas of podcasting and radio.
See the award categories and criteria here, and begin work on your entires.
Players in both sectors will have the chance to submit entries for the awards. Radio entries are open to public sector and commercial broadcasters, including SBS, community broadcasters and the ABC.
Meanwhile, podcast entries are open to organisations “that publish podcasts, corporate podcast publishers and independent producers in two categories, Major and Independent”. As part of the new offering, RadioToday’s previous podcast awards have been folded into the Audio Awards.
The Awards have been launched to take the reins in the wake of radio body Commercial Radio and Audio ending its long-standing Australian Commercial Radio Awards.
Steve Ahern
“This is an opportunity for all the radio and podcasters sectors to celebrate our vibrant Australian Audio Industry,” Steve Ahern, Radioinfo and RadioToday publisher and Awards jury curation leader, said in a press release.
“We are working together to support our industry with these awards, which will recognise talent, encourage creativity and provide benchmarks for success.
“The audio industry in this country has been successful because we compete hard, but also work together for the benefit of the whole industry. This is one of those times for us to work together.”
In the same release, Mumbrella publisher and Medialand and Mumbrellacast co-host, Tim Burrowes, said: “The audio sector is the media industry’s most collegiate community, which is why we’re so happy to be partnering with the team at Radioinfo and RadioToday in putting this event together. The industry deserves the chance to come together to celebrate its success.”
The Audio Awards are confirmed for May 28, and will close out the Mumbrella360 conference.
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The crowd was strong at Commscon 2025.
Next year, Mumbrella is set to deliver 13 events across seven months.
- Commscon (conference) — 25 March 2026
- Commscon Awards — 25 March 2026
- Mumbrella360 — 26–28 May 2026 (Carriageworks, Sydney)
- Australian Audio Awards – 28 May 2026
- Mumbrella Awards — 23 July 2026
- Mumbrella Finance Marketing Summit — 12 August 2026
- Travel Marketing Summit — 27 August 2026
- Travel Marketing Awards — 27 August 2026
- Publish Conference — 2 September 2026
- Publish Awards — 2 September 2026
- Remade (Retail media and retail marketing conference) — 15 September 2026
- Compass Roadshow (six events in capital cities) — November 2026
The publication’s events calendar begins in March, with the public relations and communications conference, Commscon, and its corresponding awards night, the Commscon Awards.
Both events — staples in Mumbrella’s stable — are locked in for March 25, 2026, at the Crown, Sydney. The conference will be an all-day affair, and will lead into the awards in the evening.
The first set of Commscon sessions have already been announced. Entries for the Commscon Awards 2026 are open now.
The year’s third event will take place in May. The annual celebration of all things marketing and media, Mumbrella360, will run from May 26 to 28, at Carriageworks in Sydney. This highlight in the industry’s events catalogue has booked several high-profile speakers to kickstart conversations on the industry’s current state and its future.
Maura Tuohy Di Muro, Roblox’s senior director of product marketing, author and Sweathead founder Mark Pollard, and Ebiquity’s global chief executive officer, Ruben Schreurs, have been named headliners, with the program continuing to grow.
Mumbrella360 2025 took over Carriageworks in Sydney’s Redfern.
Over a month later, the Mumbrella Awards will run on July 23. As always, the night will give the marketing, communications and media industry the chance to celebrate its efforts and recognise the achievements of businesses and individuals alike.
The Mumbrella Finance Marketing Summit — which last ran in 2024 and attracted speakers from major financial brands, including Mastercard, Youi and NAB — will return on August 12, 2026.
The next two pairs of sister events round out the traditional Mumbrella events.
Mumbrella’s Travel Marketing Summit and Awards will both take place on August 27, while the Publish Conference and its Awards are confirmed for September 2.
The month will host three events in total. The third will be the retail media conference, Remade, which is slotted in for September 15.
Similar to this year, Mumbrella will round out 2026 with the Compass roadshow — a multi-city extravaganza where the industry can gather with local professionals to reminisce on the year, discuss the immediate issues and plan for the road ahead.
Compass is expected to run in November 2026, with specific dates and cities to be confirmed.
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Good move. Congratulations to all involved.
Now to add more categories so we can all get a chance to be in it.
I look forward to the stoush between ABC and commercial breakfast shows in Sydney and Melbourne.