A message from AFTRS CEO Dr Nell Greenwood:
AFTRS was founded on the principle that stories matter. They shape culture, connect us, challenge and transform us. As we close out 2025 and look ahead to a new year, our commitment to this vision is stronger than ever.
This year, our students have delivered an extraordinary slate of work: 128 projects in total, including five MAS Capstone shorts, five visual poems, 12 BA Graduation Project Elective Productions, and multiple productions and creative projects across all courses. Our Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting students delivered four outstanding productions (two pop-up live radio stations and two professionally produced podcasts) bringing together on-campus and online students in equal measure – a powerful example of excellence and equity in action!
These students will go out into industry, creating work and telling stories, following in the footsteps of alumni such as our AFTRS chair, Rachel Perkins, Shannon Murphy, David Speers and Kent “Smallzy” Small. Through their storytelling, they will help shape our culture and deepen our understanding of ourselves.
We’re so proud our students and graduates are being recognised, with their works not just earning accolades but connecting with audiences, from Gorgo winning Best Short Film at the AACTA Awards to more than 20 works screening on SBS On Demand and DocPlay. This year’s GDRP student podcast was also recognised as a finalist in the ‘Best New Podcast’ category of the International Student Broadcasting Championship.
And our students are being hired! This year we had nine BA graduates secure paid placements with leading industry partners, including ABC, BBC Studios, Eureka Productions, Endemol Shine Australia, Wildbear Entertainment and SBS. A further 24 BA students undertook industry placements with 20 organisations, while MAS students gained experience with partners such as Icon Film Distribution, Photoplay and Easy Tiger Productions. We introduced our first year-long internship with Curio Pictures, and we worked with Disney Australia to develop our On Set Onboarding course, placing five graduates on a feature film production. In addition, 17 GDRP students completed placements with 10 organisations across Australia including ABC, ARN, Nova, SCA LiSTNR, Nine audio, SBS, 4EB/The Wire, 3PBS, Impact Studios UTS and the ARIAs. These experiences are so important in setting our students and graduates up for successful first jobs and ongoing careers – so, to all the production companies and broadcasters who have believed in our students and supported them, thank you!
We know that an education at AFTRS is a transformative one, and we have continued to keep our doors open as wide as possible and work with communities to build pathways for creatives in and out of the School, and across the country. This year growing numbers of successful applicants from TAFE NSW, and now Canberra Institute of Technology, are entering Year 2 of the BA.
AFTRS is a hub for learning, and it’s a hub for connection – it brings people with a passion for story together to share ideas, make work together and support each other. Initiatives like the On Country Pathways Program and partnerships with WINDA and TILDE Film Festivals allow us to play a role in bringing together, and learning from different storytelling communities across Australia.
Emerging creatives across Australia also continue to be supported by our Scholarship program, with more than 40 scholarships on offer in 2026. Thank you to the AFTRS community, industry leaders and alumni who share our commitment to access and equity and understand what a powerful and necessary investment this is in the telling of our Australian stories.
In addition to our Award Courses, more than 1350 people were trained by AFTRS either online, at our Sydney campus, or in capital and regional cities across the country thanks to our short courses program.
This year has also been about looking into the future and considering how our learning is setting up our students for long, satisfying creative careers. The Digital Futures Summit on the theme of Anticipation had more than 450 participants from home and abroad, and invited us to imagine where our industries and the future of story itself is heading.
At AFTRS’ Sydney campus, from our Solar Panel project and supporting sustainability targets to considering how we support our students living in Sydney through scholarships and potential accommodation options, we will continue to strengthen our institution to ensure it is ready to lead the sector into the future.
As we look ahead to 2026, our North Star remains clear: the bright, shining power of good stories. The need for brave, ethical storytellers has never been greater, and AFTRS is proud to lead the way.
To our AFTRS community and supporters: thank you for your passion and commitment. Wishing you a restful, restorative break – and here’s to the stories we will create together in the year ahead.
