Perth community radio station RTRFM has been named the winner of the 2025 Tony Staley Award for Excellence at the Community Broadcasting at the sector’s annual awards ceremony.
Named after the political trailblazer Tony Staley, who helped envisage the future of community broadcasting, the award celebrates a community broadcasting organisation that promotes the sector’s core values of democracy, diversity, access and independence.
The station, which was Perth’s first FM station, launched in 1977 and was originally a part of the University of Western Australia. In the early 90s it became an independent entity and is now home to over 50 shows, hundreds of community presenters and brings a diverse range of viewpoints and perspectives to air.
The station is also home to LGBTIQA+ focused radio show All Things Queer which this year marked its 15th birthday.
The station’s Breakfast host Pam Boland was also the recipient of the Outstanding Presenter award, while the station also took home the award for Excellence in Production for their Loveline campaign which allowed listeners and supporters record message about the value the community broadcaster brings to their lives.
Vision Radio Australia were awarded the Excellence in Special Events & Outside Broadcasting trophy for their coverage of Melbourne’s 2025 Midsumma Carnival Day.
While JOY Media, the only dedicated LGBTIQA+ radio station in the country was the winner of the Excellence in Station Resilience & Development award. The Melbourne based station also won the The Troy Garner Award which celebrates excellence in sports programing for it’s show Game On.
Perth’s Heritage FM was the winner of the Excellence in Australian Music award for their show In The Scene. The new show which launched in 2024 focuses solely on Western Australian music and airs between 7pm and 9pm on Tuesday nights.
Western Australian community broadcaster Nola Green from Collie Community Radio was among the names added to the association’s Community Broadcasting Honour role which recognises people who have dedicated more than 15 years to a single community radio station.
The awards were the highlight of the annual Community Broadcasting Association Australian conference which was held in Hobart.
OUTinPerth co-editor Graeme Watson is a former employee and current presenter at RTRFM 92.1 While co-editor Leigh Andrew Hill is a former presenter.
