The Art Music Awards consist of eleven national Awards:
- Work of the Year: Orchestral
- Work of the Year: Instrumental
- Work of the Year: Vocal/Choral
- Work of the Year: Jazz
- Performance of the Year
- Award for Excellence by an Organisation
- Award for Excellence by an Individual
- Award for Excellence in Music Education
- Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
- Award for Excellence in Experimental Music (for works, people or events)
- Award for Excellence in Jazz (for works, people or events)
An additional category is awarded at the discretion of the Board of Directors of APRA and AMC for Distinguished Services to Australian Music.
For each State or Territory, one Award will be given from one of the following eleven categories:
- Work of the Year: Orchestral
- Work of the Year: Instrumental
- Work of the Year: Vocal
- Work of the Year: Jazz
- Performance of the Year
- Award for Excellence by an Organisation
- Award for Excellence by an Individual
- Award for Excellence in Music Education
- Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
- Award for Excellence in Experimental Music (for works, people or events)
- Award for Excellence in Jazz (for works, people or events)