Lead guitarist Jim Moginie says he's open to making music once more with bandmates Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst, Martin Rotsey and Bones Hillman.

"Making noise again with the lads was good," Moginie told AAP this week.

"I think we're all around. We're all still playing. We're all still doing things together, I don't see why we shouldn't (make new music) if we've got something to say.

"It's a very organic process with Midnight Oil and how we make things and create things. So I'm really open, never say never."

Moginie was in Sydney with his bandmates to collect the prestigious Ted Albert Award for outstanding contribution to Australian music at this week's APRA Awards.

Frontman Garrett also dropped a massive hint that something was in the works.

"I think we owe it to ourselves to see if we can make new music," Garrett told News Ltd.

It's been 16 years since the Oil's last studio album, Capricornia, and there's a renewed energy in the band since their recent tour.

Moginie said winning the Ted Albert Award made him nostalgic for the band's early days, recording at historic Sydney production house Albert's, and working in close quarters with legendary songwriting/producing duo Harry Vanda and George Young.

"Our first album was started at Alberts with Harry and George hanging around in the coffee room," he said.

"They kicked us out when we were doing the midnight to dawn shift and they'd come in during the day and cut Love is In The Air and stuff like that. It was an amazing time."

A new documentary charting the band's early days, Midnight Oil 1984, will be released in May.

Australian Associated Press