Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander members - apply for a Professional Development Award!

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members are encouraged to apply for the three NATSIMO categories of the 2024 Professional Development Awards
Expressions of interest are open for the following categories: NATSIMO General, NATSIMO Youth (under 25 years) and NATSIMO Senior (50+ years)

Applications close 11:59pm AEDT on Thursday 12 October.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander songwriters and composers from any genre are warmly invited to apply for the NATSIMO Professional Development Awards 2024.

The APRA Professional Development Awards exist to provide support to emerging songwriters and composers. Three NATSIMO recipients will each receive a career-changing $10,000 cash prize to support their development.

There are three NATSIMO categories in the 2024 Professional Development Awards:

• NATSIMO General
• NATSIMO Senior (50+ years)
• NATSIMO Youth (under 25 years)

It is expected that the funds will help recipients attend workshops, music education courses, composer seminars, co-writing sessions and other relevant activities - locally or internationally. The Awards are not intended to fund recording.

To apply, applicants are asked to provide:

• a hi-res photo of yourself and a brief bio for use if you are a winner or finalist
• If you are under 18, you'll need to provide a letter of authority from your parent or guardian -find it here.
• Three works or songs as MP3 audio files for judges to listen to.

Entrants in the NATSIMO categories must also comply with the three working criteria as confirmation of your Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander heritage. These are:

• Being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent
• Identifying as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person
• Being accepted as such by the community in which you live, or formerly lived

You'll also be asked to answer some questions about your musical career to-date, what your ambitions are in songwriting or composing, and how winning a PDA award will help you achieve your goals.

If you still have questions, check out this FAQ piece.

“It’s important work that APRA does, and this award is going to help me to keep working towards my own vision and my own dreams. Creating music the way that I feel it. Culture is life, and I am culture. And I am thankful for your support on my journey. “ - Yirrmal, NATSIMO General 2023 PDA winner

To learn more and submit an EOI, please visit this link.