Australian Podcast Awards announce all-star judging line up and deadline extension

The Australian Podcast Awards (APAs) powered by iHeart, has announced its ‘all star’ 2023 judging panel, which includes industry veterans and leading producers from Australia’s top media houses.

Due to the unprecedented number of entrants across the country, APA has announced an extended submission deadline of the 3rd of August. APAs have seen an abundance of entrants across all categories, celebrating the diversity of Australian podcasts in 2023.

This year, the 2023 APAs have seen an increase in entrants across the 30 award categories from Best New Podcast to Podcast of the Year and every genre-based category in between. The dedicated judging panel of industry experts will determine nominees from the provided category shortlists.

The Judging panel consists of a range of industry heavyweights including head of Audio at News Corp Australia, Del Fordham, director at Audible, Paul Horan, podcast Content & Partnership Manager at Network 10/Paramount ANZ, Ali Aitken and Podcast Producer for the AFR, Lap Phan. These judges are joined by 40+ additional APA judges looking to crown the best podcasts of 2023.

The APAs independent judging panel also unites talent from the nation’s leading podcast production houses and media publications including: ARN/ iHeartRadio, Bamby Media, ABC, Guardian Australia, SBS, Ethical Change Agency, Shoes Off Productions and university such as Murdoch University and University of New England.

Jennie Meynell, Business Lead, Australian Podcast Awards, said: “To see the wave of submissions from podcast creators and producers across Australia has been nothing short of spectacular. The growth of the APAs has only continued to confirm the exponential growth of the podcast industry within Australia. We’re looking forward to working with our incredible line-up of judges to shortlist the entries.”

Stephanie Coombes, Podcast Content Director at ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia, said: “It’s exciting to be part of the world-class judging panel for this year’s Australian Podcast Awards. With Australia continuing to hold the title as the world’s largest podcast-listening nation, there is no better panel of judges than Australian industry professionals.”

A full list of the judges can be found here.

Submissions for the Australian Podcast Awards are now open. Nominees will be selected by a judging panel of industry experts before the category winners are announced in November.

About Australian Podcast Awards:

The Australian Podcast Awards is an annual celebration of the quality and breadth of Australian podcast content. Entries are self-nominated, and over 30 categories are judged by a panel of experts selected from across the podcast industry, alongside a public vote - the Listeners’ Choice. Entries come from independent podcasters, broadcasters, the business community as well as students and non-profit organisations.