Entries are self-nominated, and over 20 categories are judged by a panel of experts, alongside a public vote - the Listeners’ Choice. Entries come from independent podcasters, broadcasters, the business community and well as students and non-profit organisations. The Australian Podcast Awards first emerged in late 2015. Dave Gertler, a Sydney-based independent podcaster, realised the industry was
beginning to mature, and would benefit from the establishment of an awards ceremony that represented the breadth of shows out there. He named the project the 'Cast Away Awards' and spent 2016 putting together a judging panel and spreading the word to as many Australian podcasters as he could. In April 2017 the Cast Away Awards event took place in Sydney, seeing guests, podcasters and judges in attendance from most States and Territories. In 2018, with the addition to the team of Executive Producer Anna Riddel, the event was held in Melbourne, as the now rebranded 'The Australian Podcast Awards'. After thee two successful events, the third Annual Australian Podcast Awards returned to Sydney in May 2019 with a ceremony attended by over 400 of the country's best podcasters. Whilst the event was becoming a success, the overheads and time taken to produce a first-class ceremony were hard to do as a side project, so in early 2020 Dave enlisted the help of the team behind the British Podcast Awards, Matt Deegan and Matt Hill, who shared the values of the APAs: to discover great podcasts wherever they come from. They, like Dave, were independent of major publishers and broadcasters and keen to get everyone in the same room. In 2020, the Coronavirus outbreak has meant the Australian Podcast Awards moves to a virtual event, but is still committed to celebrating the best Australian podcasts. It also appointed Sophie Harper to be the Chair of Judges and started working alongside the team to share best practices and resources.
