| Best Screenplay in Television AACTA Award | |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) |
| First awarded | 1986 |
| Website | https://www.aacta.org |
The AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA).
From 1986 to 2010, the category was presented by the Australian Film Institute (AFI), the Academy's parent organisation, at the annual Australian Film Institute Awards (known as the AFI Awards).[1]
When the award was first introduced, it was handed out as two awards: Mini-Series Screenplay and Telefeature Screenplay.[2] The name was changed to Best Screenplay in a Mini-Series or Television Drama in 1990,[3] and the following year it became Best Screenplay in a Television Drama until 2003[4] where the award was renamed to its current title.
When the AFI launched the Academy in 2011, it changed the annual ceremony to the AACTA Awards, with the current award being a continuum of the AFI Award for Best Screenplay in Television.[1] AACTA is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film and television".[5]
The award is presented at the annual AACTA Awards, which hand out accolades for achievements in feature film, television, documentaries and short films.[6]
In the following tables, the years listed correspond to the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the same year.[A] The writer and programme in bold and in yellow background have won the award. Those that are neither highlighted nor in bold are the nominees. When sorted chronologically, the tables always lists the winning writer and programme first and then the other nominees.[7]
| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 (28th) |
The Dunera Boys | Ben Lewin | Network Ten |
| 1987 (29th) | |||
| In Between | Maureen McCarthy and Shane Brennan | SBS | |
| The Challenge | David Phillips | Nine Network | |
| The Great Bookie Robbery | Philip Cornford and Ian Bradley | Nine Network | |
| Vietnam | Terry Hayes, John Duigan and Chris Noonan | Network Ten | |
| 1988 (30th) |
Not awarded | ||
| 1989 (31st) | |||
| Bodysurfer | Suzanne Hawley, Christopher Lee and Denis Whitburn | ABC | |
| Edens Lost | Michael Gow | ABC | |
| Act of Betrayal | Michael Chaplin and Nick Evans | ABC | |
| Barlow and Chambers: A Long Way From Home | Bill Kerby | Nine Network | |
| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Network | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 (28th) |
Natural Causes | John Misto | ABC | ||
| 1987 (29th) | |||||
| Two Friends | Helen Garner | ABC | |||
| The Hour Before My Brother Dies | Daniel Keene | ABC | |||
| Hunger | Louis Nowra | ABC | |||
| Just Us | Ted Roberts | Seven Network | |||
| 1988 (30th) |
Not awarded | ||||
| 1989 (31st) | |||||
| Police State | Ian David and Francine Finnane | ABC | |||
| Malpractice | Jenny Ainge | Nine Network | |||
| Rescue | Everett De Roche | ABC | |||
| Prejudice | Pamela Williams | Nine Network | |||
| Year | Program | Writer(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 (32nd) | |||
| The Magistrate | Chris Warner | ABC | |
| Come In Spinner | Nick Enright and Lissa Benyon | ABC | |
| The Girl from Tomorrow | Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson | Nine Network | |
| Police Crop | Ian David | ABC |
| Year | Program | Episode | Writer(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 (1st) | ||||
| The Slap | "Harry" | Brendan Cowell | ABC1 | |
| Cloudstreet | "Part 3" | Tim Winton and Ellen Fontana | Showcase | |
| Laid | "Episode 3" | Kirsty Fisher | ABC1 | |
| The Slap | "Hector" | Kris Mrksa | ABC1 | |
| 2012 (2nd) | ||||
| Redfern Now | "Pretty Boy Blue" | Steven McGregor | ABC1 | |
| A Moody Christmas | "Water Under the Bridge" | Trent O'Donnell and Phil Lloyd | ABC1 | |
| Lowdown | "One Fine Gay" | Amanda Brotchie, Adam Zwar and Trudy Hellier | ABC1 | |
| Puberty Blues | "Episode 5" | Alice Bell and Tony McNamara | Network Ten | |
| 2013 (3rd) | ||||
| Offspring | "Episode 13" | Debra Oswald | Network Ten | |
| Upper Middle Bogan | "No Angel" | Robyn Butler, Wayne Hope, and Gary McCaffrie | ABC1 | |
| Redfern Now | "Babe in Arms" | Steven McGregor | ABC1 | |
| Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch War | "Part One" | Samantha Winston | Nine Network |