ARIA Award for Best Independent Release

The ARIA Music Award for Best Independent Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres",^[1] since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an organisation whose aim is "to advance the interests of the Australian record industry."^[2]

ARIA Award for Best Independent Release
Country	Australia
Presented by	Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA)
First award	1989
Currently held by	Angie McMahon, Light, Dark, Light Again (2024)
Website	ariaawards.com.au

Winners and nominees

In the following table, the winner is highlighted in a separate colour, and in boldface; the nominees are those that are not highlighted or in boldface. Winners are only provided where reliable sources do not mention of nominees.^[3]

  Winner marked in a separate colour

Year	Winner(s)	Album/Single title
1989 (3rd)
	TISM	"Apathy"
	Eric Bogle	Something of Value
	Flederman	Flederman
	Larry Sitsky	Contemporary Australian Piano
	The Spliffs	"Sixteen"
1990 (4th)
	Wild Pumpkins at Midnight	This Machine Is Made of People
	Dubrovniks	Dubrovnik Blues
	Girl Monstar	"Surfing on a Wave"/"He's Hell"
	Sirocco	Port of Call
	Various Artists	Rockin' Bethlehem
1991 (5th)
	The Killjoys	Ruby
	Blue Ruin	I'm Gonna Smile
	Girl Monstar	"Joe Cool"
	Roaring Jack	Through the Smoke of Innocence
	Various Artists	Rockin Bethlehem: The Second Coming
1992 (6th)
	Not Drowning, Waving	Proof
	The Aints	Ascension
	Def FX	Water
	Ed Kuepper	Honey Steel's Gold
	Underground Lovers	Underground Lovers
1993 (7th)
	Ed Kuepper	Black Ticket Day
	The Jackson Code	Strange Cargo
	Def FX	Blink (EP)
	Melanie Oxley and Chris Abrahams	Welcome to Violet
	TISM	Beasts of Suburban
1994 (8th)
	Ed Kuepper	Serene Machine
	The Jackson Code	Dragging the River
	Juice	Movin' On
	Dave Steel	Cross My Palm
	Brenda Webb	"Little Black Girl"
1995 (9th)
	TISM	Machiavelli and the Four Seasons
	Def FX	Ritual Eternal
	Ed Kuepper	Character Assassination
	Magic Dirt	Life Was Better
	Single Gun Theory	Flow, River of My Soul
1996 (10th)
	You Am I	Hourly, Daily
	Custard	Wisenheimer
	Ed Kuepper	The Exotic Mail Order Moods of Ed Kuepper
	TISM	"Greg! The Stop Sign!!"
	Underground Lovers	Rushall Station
1997 (11th)
	Savage Garden	Savage Garden
	Deadstar	"Don't it Get You Down"
	Dirty Three	Horse Stories
	Ed Kuepper	Frontierland
	Even	Less Is More
1998 (12th)
	The Whitlams	Eternal Nightcap
	The Blackeyed Susans	Spin the Bottle
	Karma County	Olana
	The Living End	"Second Solution / Prisoner of Society"
	TISM	www.tism.wanker.com
1999 (13th)
	Josh Abrahams	Sweet Distorted Holiday
	Crawlspace	"Away"
	Diana Ah Naid	"Oh No (Curbside Lullaby)"
	Pauline Pantsdown	"I Don't Like It"
	Pre-Shrunk	"Triple A Side"
2000 (14th)
	S2S	"Sister"
	Diana Ah Naid	I Don't Thing I'm Pregnant
	iOTA	The Hip Bone Connection
	Skulker	Too Fat for Tahiti
	Stella One Eleven	"Only Good for Conversation"
2001 (15th)
	John Butler Trio	Three
	Allan Browne's New Rascals	East St Kilda Toodleoo
	Nitocris	Manic
	Pre-Shrunk	Digital Sunrise
	Stella One Eleven	In Your Hands
2002 (16th)
	1200 Techniques	"Karma (What Goes Around)"
	Icecream Hands	"Rain Hail Shine"
	Killing Heidi	Heavensent
	Lisa Miller	Car Tape
	The Waifs	"London Still"
2003 (17th)
	The Waifs	Up All Night
	1200 Techniques	"Eye of the Storm"
	Diesel	Hear
	John Butler Trio	Living
	The Mess Hall	Feeling Sideways
2004 (18th)
	John Butler Trio	Sunrise Over Sea
	Butterfingers	Breakfast at Fatboys
	Jebediah	Braxton Hicks
	The Waifs	"Bridal Train"
	Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males	Sing the Tabloid Blues
2005 (19th)
	Ben Lee	Awake Is the New Sleep
	Architecture in Helsinki	In Case We Die
	Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets	Joel Turner and the Modern Day Poets
	Lior	Autumn Flow
	The Waifs	A Brief History...
2006 (20th)
	Hilltop Hoods	The Hard Road
	Ben Lee	"We're All in This Together"
	Gotye	Like Drawing Blood
	The John Butler Trio	Live at St. Gallen
	Lior	Doorways of My Mind
2007 (21st)
	The John Butler Trio	Grand National
	Gotye	Mixed Blood
	Hilltop Hoods	The Hard Road: Restrung
	Sneaky Sound System	Sneaky Sound System
	Wolf & Cub	Vessels
2008 (22nd)
	Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu	Gurrumul
	Ben Lee	Ripe
	British India	Thieves
	Lior	Corner of an Endless Road
	Midnight Juggernauts	Dystopia
2009 (23rd)
	Bertie Blackman	Secrets and Lies
	C. W. Stoneking	Jungle Blues
	Dappled Cities	Zounds
	Sneaky Sound System	2
	The Drones	Havilah
2010 (24th)
	Sia	We Are Born
	Art vs. Science	Magic Fountain
	Dan Sultan	Get Out While You Can
	Eddy Current Suppression Ring	Rush to Relax
	John Butler Trio	April Uprising
2011 (25th)
	Art vs. Science	The Experiment
	Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu	Rrakala
	John Butler Trio	Live at Red Rocks
	Tex Perkins & the Dark Horses	Tex Perkins & the Dark Horses
	The Jezabels	"Dark Storm"
2012 (26th)
	The Jezabels	Prisoner
	Dappled Cities	Lake Air
	Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp	Songs of the Southern Skies
	San Cisco	Awkward
	The Bamboos	Medicine Man
2013 (27th)
	Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds	Push the Sky Away
	Big Scary	Not Art
	San Cisco	San Cisco
	Sheppard	"Let Me Down Easy"
	The Drones	I See Seaweed
2014 (28th)
	Chet Faker	Built on Glass
	Dan Sultan	Blackbird
	Sheppard	Bombs Away
	Vance Joy	"Mess Is Mine"
	Violent Soho	"Saramona Said"
2015 (29th)
	Courtney Barnett	Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit
	Hermitude	Dark Night Sweet Light
	Jarryd James	"Do You Remember"
	Paul Kelly	The Merri Soul Sessions
	Vance Joy	Dream Your Life Away
2016 (30th)
	Flume	Skin
	Jarryd James	Thirty One
	King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard	Nonagon Infinity
	Sia	This Is Acting
	Violent Soho	WACO
2017 (31st)
	A.B. Original	Reclaim Australia
	Dan Sultan	Killer
	Sia	"The Greatest" (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
	Tash Sultana	Notion
	Vance Joy	"Lay It on Me"
2018 (32nd)
	Gurrumul	Djarimirri (Child of the Rainbow)
	Angus & Julia Stone	Snow
	Courtney Barnett	Tell Me How You Really Feel
	DMA's	For Now
	Pnau	"Go Bang"
2019 (33rd)
	Tones and I	The Kids Are Coming
	Angie McMahon	Salt
	G Flip	About Us
	Julia Jacklin	Crushing
	The Teskey Brothers	Run Home Slow
2020 (34th)
	Sampa the Great	The Return
	Archie Roach	Tell Me Why
	DMA's	The Glow
	Lime Cordiale	14 Steps to a Better You
	Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds	Ghosteen
2021 (35th)
	Genesis Owusu	Smiling with No Teeth
	Archie Roach	The Songs of Charcoal Lane
	Ball Park Music	Ball Park Music
	Emma Donovan & The Pushbacks	Crossover
	Vance Joy	"Missing Piece"
2022 (36th)
	Archie Roach	"One Song"
	Ball Park Music	Weirder & Weirder
	Courtney Barnett	Things Take Time, Take Time
	Genesis Owusu	"GTFO"
	Julia Jacklin	Pre Pleasure
2023 (37th)
	Genesis Owusu	Struggler
	Cub Sport	Jesus at the Gay Bar
	Dan Sultan	Dan Sultan
	G Flip	Drummer
	Kylie Minogue	"Padam Padam"
2024 (38th)
	Angie McMahon	Light, Dark, Light Again
	Emily Wurramara	Nara
	Kylie Minogue	Tension
	Miss Kaninna	"Blak Britney"
	Royel Otis	Pratts & Pain