Australian Women in Music Launches New DJ Award Honouring the Late Courtney Mills
Australian Women in Music has announced a new award honouring the late Australian DJ Courtney Mills.
Australian Women in Music (AWMA) has announced a new award honouring the late Australian DJ Courtney Mills, who passed away in 2025.
Established in partnership with the Courtney Mills Foundation, the inaugural Courtney Mills DJ Award will recognise an established female or gender-diverse DJ for their artistic achievements and contribution to Australia's electronic music scene.
The award will celebrate DJs who have developed a distinctive musical identity, demonstrated creative excellence and made a positive impact on the wider electronic music community.
Dr Diana Tolmie, AWMA Juror Chair, will oversee a panel of industry representatives from labels, A&R, touring, programming and artist development, who will select the finalists and determine the inaugural winner.
“AWMA is deeply committed to building safe, visible and sustainable pathways for female and gender-diverse artists in sectors where they have historically been underrepresented. Aligning this award with Courtney’s legacy is profoundly meaningful and creates a celebrated pathway for national recognition on the AWMA stage,” AWMA Founding Executive Producer and Program Director, Vicki Gordon, said.
The new category aims to address the ongoing underrepresentation of women and gender-diverse artists in electronic music, while recognising DJing as an art form extending beyond technical performance to creativity, cultural influence and community leadership.
Kiani Mills of the Courtney Mills Foundation added that the award would ensure Courtney's legacy continues to create opportunities for future generations of artists.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
“Courtney was the kind of DJ who made you feel something. Not just in the room, but about what was possible. She had a musical identity that was entirely her own, and she built it in an industry that rarely made space for women like her to be seen at that level,” she said.
“This award exists because that has to change. Not as a gesture, but as a permanent statement, on one of the most significant stages in Australian music. The recipient of this award will know their craft, culture and community on the highest terms. Courtney deserved that recognition. So do those who come after her.”
Valiant Records Australia Director and A&R Tom Evans, who helped shape the award's criteria, said it was important to recognise “what actually makes an artist stand out at this level”.
“Technical ability is part of the craft, but a great DJ is also defined by their musical identity, judgement, body of work and the contribution they make to the culture around them. There isn’t one prescribed pathway to becoming an influential DJ, and I think this award will celebrate that.”
Nominations for the inaugural Courtney Mills DJ Award will open at 7am (AEDT) on Tuesday, October 27th, and close on Tuesday, November 24th.
Finalists will be announced in February 2027, with the inaugural winner revealed at the Australian Women in Music Awards at Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall on Thursday, May 27th.
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