The winners of the 2025 Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA) were announced at a ceremony in Brisbane on 9 October.

Celebrating the accomplishments of female musicians and arts workers, from executives and engineers to photographers and journalists, this year’s awards particularly acknowledged the achievements of First Nations women, with Yanyuwa & Wardaman singer-songwriter Shellie Morris scooping up three of the 21 awards.

The Opera Impact Award winner is Nicole Car. An internationally-acclaimed soprano, Car made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2018 in La bohème as Mimì, and has performed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera and the Paris Opera, among others.

Nicole Car, Alexander Briger and Orchestra Victoria. Photo © Jeff Busby

She returned to Australia this year to perform the title role in Opera Australia’s Rusalka. In a five-star review, Limelight writer Jansson J. Antmann described her vocal agility as “second to none”. Car will reprise the role for Wiener Staatsoper and Paris Opera this year.

Accomplished Brisbane-born composer Cathy Milliken has been awarded the Excellence in Classical Music Award.

Now based in Berlin, Milliken has seen commissions from organisations including London’s Southbank Centre, Staatsoper...