Led by homegrown Australian dramas The Newsreader and Mystery Road: Origin, ABC programs and personalities are in contention for 68 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts awards, more nominations than any other network or streamer.
The AACTA Awards (formerly the AFI Awards) honour screen excellence in Australia, with winners to be announced at a ceremony on the Gold Coast on February 6.
The ABC is nominated in most AACTA categories including drama, children's, comedy, entertainment, factual, documentary and lifestyle.
Ten-time AACTA award-winner The Newsreader continues its phenomenal run, with 12 nominations. Produced by Werner productions for the ABC, season three takes audiences behind the scenes of the fictional News at Six newsroom for another dose of nostalgia and compelling drama. The Newsreader S3's nominations include Best Lead Actress in a Drama (Anna Torv), Best Lead Actor in a Drama (Sam Reid), Best Direction (Emma Freeman), Best Drama Series and Best Cinematography.
Mystery Road Origin is nominated 11 times including for Best Lead Actress in a Drama (Tuuli Narkle), Best Lead Actor in a Drama (Mark Coles Smith), Best Drama Series and Best Cinematography.
Austin is nominated four times including Best Acting in a Comedy (Michael Theo, Ben Miller and Sally Phillips) and Best Narrative Comedy Series.
The ABC has earned industry recognition across 2025, winning the most AACTA awards of any network (13) in February, followed by a record-breaking haul at the 65th Logie Awards in August where it won 11 awards from 23 categories. The ABC also won the highest honour in Australian journalism last month, the prestigious Gold Walkley.
ABC Director Screen Jennifer Collins: "Congratulations to all the AACTA nominees and our production partners whose collaboration makes it all possible. This recognition reflects a big year for ABC Screen across all genres, particularly our drama slate led by beautifully crafted programs such as The Newsreader S3, Mystery Road: Origin S2 and The Family Next Door that have resonated so strongly with Australian audiences."
Australians couldn't get enough of dramas this year on ABC iview, with the genre driving 21 per cent of all minutes viewed in 2025, up from 17 per cent in 2024.
Family Next Door, which received two AACTA nominations including for Best Drama Series, has been one of the standouts on ABC iview in 2025. It was the biggest non-childrens' ABC iview launch in history and its total audience of 1.5 million across TV and ABC iview made it the No.1 free-to-air drama on Australian screens this year. It was closely followed by Mystery Road: Origin S2 with an audience of 1.4 million.
You can watch the ABC's AACTA nominated programs in a special collection here on ABC iview
ABC AACTA Award Nominations
Best Acting in a Comedy
Ben Miller - AUSTIN
Denise Scott - MOTHER AND SON
Michael Theo - AUSTIN
Sally Phillips - AUSTIN
Best Casting in Television
Anousha Zarkesh - MYSTERY ROAD ORIGIN
Best Casting in Television
Nathan Lloyd - THE NEWSREADER
Best Children's Program
Andy Lee, Greg Sitch - DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW
Bryson Hall, Lyndal Mebberson - PLAY SCHOOL: ALL TOGETHER
Chris Walker, Kevin Whyte, Tom Gleeson, John Tabbagh - HARD QUIZ KIDS
Suzanne Ryan, Yasmin Jones - SPACE NOVA
Best Cinematography in Television
Earle Dresner - THE NEWSREADER - Episode 3
Sky Davies - MYSTERY ROAD ORIGIN - Episode 5
Jack Riley, Nick Robinson, Caspar Mazzotti, Paul Bell - THE KIMBERLEY - Episode 1
Best Comedy Entertainment Program
Bronwynn Bakker, Cameron Bakker, Guy Montgomery, Greg Sitch - GUY MONTGOMERY'S GUY-MONT SPELLING BEE
Charlie Pickering, Chris Walker, Kevin Whyte, Frank Bruzzese - THE WEEKLY WITH CHARLIE PICKERING
Chris Walker, Kevin Whyte, Tom Gleeson, John Tabbagh - HARD QUIZ
Best Comedy Entertainment Program
Rowdie Walden, Anthony Watt - SPICKS AND SPECKS
Best Comedy Performer
Aaron Chen - GUY MONTGOMERY'S GUY-MONT SPELLING BEE
Guy Montgomery - GUY MONTGOMERY'S GUY-MONT SPELLING BEE
Julia Zemiro - CRIME NIGHT!
Luke McGregor - PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Tom Gleeson - HARD QUIZ
Best Costume Design in Television
Gypsy Taylor - THE NEWSREADER
Best Direction in Drama or Comedy
Emma Freeman - THE NEWSREADER - Episode 3
Best Direction in Nonfiction Television
Kirk Docker - I WAS ACTUALLY THERE - Episode 4
Nick Robinson - THE KIMBERLEY - Episode 1
Best Documentary
Katrina Lucas, Shalom Almond - SONGS INSIDE
Best Documentary or Factual Program
Electra Manikakis, Nick Robinson, Peta Ayers, Mark Coles Smith - THE KIMBERLEY
Loni Cooper, Josh Schmidt, Julie Hanna - I WAS ACTUALLY THERE
Melissa Maclean, Mark Fennessy, Therese Hegarty, Julie Hanna - THE ASSEMBLY
