Successful nominations, voted on by a panel of audio industry experts, will live on through the NFSA for future generations to discover and enjoy.

Popular music, advertising themes, spoken word, radio broadcasts and any sound recordings are all eligible, as long as they’re Australian and more than ten years old.  This year, sounds from 2013 and before are eligible, meaning that hit tracks such as Alive from Empire of the Sun, Holdin’ On by Flume and Lanterns by Birds of Tokyo by could be nominated for inclusion.

Audiences can nominate by heading to nfsa.gov.au to have their say.

The NFSA’s Sounds of Australia registry was established in 2007.  The NFSA selects Sounds on the strength of their cultural, historical and aesthetic relevance, and their ability to inform or reflect life in Australia.

‘We want to hear from everyone about the sounds that they think will last the test of time,’ said Nick Henderson, the NFSA’s Sounds of Australia curator.  ‘Which sounds speak to Australian history, to our culture and to our diversity? We can’t wait to find out what Australians think.’

Past additions have included early recordings by Dame Nellie Melba, The Easybeats, and The Saints, Kevin Rudd’s Apology to the Stolen Generations, the ‘Louie the Fly’ Mortein jingle, Gough Whitlam’s 1975 dismissal speech, Took The Children Away by Archie Roach, the sound of a lyrebird in a sanctuary, Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman, Majestic Fanfare from ABC News and Paul Keating’s Redfern Address.

The NFSA’s audio collection covers more than 120 years of Australian sound and contains more than 300,000 items. Ongoing digitisation programs have preserved more than 100,000 fragile recordings.

Nominate here for the 2023 Sounds of Australia.  Nominations will close on July 17. The announcement of the ten new additions will take place in November.

The 2022 Sounds of Australia, in chronological order, were:

1. Farewell address, Hallam Lord Tennyson - 1904
2. Digger, Jack Lumsdaine – 1942
3. Horrie Dargie Concert, The Horrie Dargie Harlequintet – 1952 
4. The Drover's Dream, The Bullockies' Ball, The Bushwhackers – 1956
5. Out with the old and in with the new [decimal currency jingle], Ted Roberts (lyricist) - 1965
6. The Lord’s Prayer, Sister Janet Mead – 1973
7. Stayin’ Alive, The Bee Gees - 1977  
8. Neighbours theme song, Barry Crocker (Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent) - 1987
9. Bicentenary protest coverage, Radio Redfern - 1988
10. The Misogyny speech, Julia Gillard – 2012

Images and vision from last year’s Sounds of Australia here.

Full link to nominations page: https://www.nfsa.gov.au/sounds-australia-nominate-2023

The complete Sounds of Australia list is available on the NFSA website here.

Media enquiries:

Louise Alley | Communications Manager | 0422 348 652 | louise.alley@nfsa.gov.au