This page supports two of the University of Melbourne's preferred open access publishing pathways:
These pathways align with the Principles for Open Access to Research Outputs at Melbourne and NHMRC and ARC open access policies.
This page also provides information on open access publishing discounts available to University of Melbourne authors. Note that the University discourages the payment of Article Processing Charges (APCs) to hybrid journals, preferring the options above.
When an output cannot be published open access, researchers should pursue repository open access. The University can facilitate this through our institutional repository, Minerva Access.
When publishing open access, authors typically select a Creative Commons licence for their work. For more information on Creative Commons licences, visit our Copyright website. Note that you may need to select a licence specified by your research funder.
Open access journals and book publishers
Fully open access journals may also be called gold open access journals. They may charge authors open access publishing fees called Article Processing Charges (APCs). However, many open access journals do not levy APCs, being free for authors and readers alike. Such journals are sometimes referred to as diamond open access.
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a quality-controlled, searchable index of fully open access journals. Over 60% of the 22,000+ journals in the DOAJ do not charge for publishing. This is usually because they are financially supported by institutions, organisations, or societies.
The University of Melbourne publishes or supports a range of scholar-led open access journals that do not charge publishing fees. The Library can also support such journals with DOI registration and publishing advice.
Note that the University does not have central funds for the payment of open access fees. However, faculties or schools may have funding available, and grant funding can often be used for this purpose. Discounts are available for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in some open access journals.
Many open access book publishers require the payment of a Book Processing Charge (BPC) or Chapter Processing Charge (CPC). The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) can be a helpful resource for exploring where to publish, although the database includes hybrid publishers that levy high fees.
A growing number of fully open access book publishers do not levy publishing fees. These include Language Science Press, Open Book Publishers, and Punctum Books, all of which are financially supported by the Library.
Open access publishing agreements
University of Melbourne corresponding authors can sometimes avoid open access fees (APCs) using our open access publishing agreements. Note that other publishing fees, such as page charges or service fees, may still apply.
See the "Agreements by publisher" section below for agreements' limitations and eligibility requirements. Always check the publisher’s agreement details below for eligible article types and other conditions.
A list of all journals eligible under our 2026 agreements is now available below. It includes cap details (for the few journals still subject to caps) and will be updated as journal eligibility is confirmed in lists provided by publishers or by CAUL. The 2025 list applied until 1 January 2026 and can be accessed from the FAQ below.
View the 2026 list of all covered journals (Excel 365)
Note that the cap for Wiley fully open access journals is projected to be reached in November 2026.
Agreements by publisher
Below is a complete list, by publisher, of our open access publishing agreements. Most of these are Read and Publish (R&P) agreements negotiated by the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL). Note that all agreements are reviewed annually. Agreements reaching the end of their term must undergo a process of renegotiation and evaluation before renewal. The publisher list below be updated when new or renewed agreements are signed.
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Type
Transformative agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2024 (for articles published or accepted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all ACM journals, conference proceedings, and magazines.
Covered journals are reflected in our all covered journals spreadsheet and in CAUL's title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
According to ACM: "There can only be a single corresponding author designated for each accepted article. A corresponding author has the authority to represent their co-authors in all publication related matters with ACM and is responsible for the completion of the ACM rights assignment process." (CAUL)
Eligible article types
See the "Agreement details" section of the CAUL R&P Guide's ACM page for the full list of included and excluded article types. Eligible types include:
- Conference or proceedings paper
- Interview
- Note
- Research Article
- Review Article
- Short Paper
- Survey
- Technical Note
- Tutorial
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). They should provide this in the publisher's submission platform and use it for correspondence. ACM's eRights system will match the email domain to the University of Melbourne agreement.
If the corresponding author is unable to provide a unimelb email address, they should contact ACM before completing the eRights Form. This will ensure the article is properly affiliated and covered under the agreement.
Authors will be required to provide their ORCID upon article submission. ACM uses the corresponding author's employment details in ORCID as a secondary means of confirming affiliation, when necessary. We encourage authors to ensure their ORCID affiliations are up-to-date (see instructions here).
When selecting a "rights assignment" option during the publishing process, select ACM's "Institutionally Paid Open Access/Permission Release" option. This provides ACM with a non-exclusive license to publish the article under a CC BY licence.
For details on how to publish open access using the ACM agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of teh agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2023 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Limited (capped) open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in most hybrid AIP Publishing journals.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
Fully open access journals are not included in the agreement (APCs will still apply). Two hybrid titles are also currently excluded from the agreement: Journal of the Physical Society of Japan and Physics Today.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types (2026)
- Primary research articles
- Review articles
- Tutorial articles
- Perspective articles
Eligible article types (2023-2025)
- Research articles
- Review articles
- Conference articles
- Perspectives
Cap details
This is a capped agreement. There is a limit to the number of articles that can have their open access publishing covered under the agreement during the calendar year.
The publishing cap is set at over 200% of participating institutions' average annual AIP publishing amount. It is very unlikely the cap will be reached in 2026.
All Australian universities that have signed the CAUL-negotiated agreement draw from the same cap. The cap is accessed on a first come, first served basis. See the CAUL R&P Guide's AIP Publishing page for details.
How to use the agreement
When possible, the corresponding author should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). They should provide this in the publisher's submission platform and use it for correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
For details on how to use the AIP agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section in the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2024 (for articles accepted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in hybrid APA journals. The agreement covers APA-published hybrid journals indexed in APA PsycArticles.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
APA's fully open access journal, Technology, Mind, and Behavior, is not covered by the agreement. Journals from other publishers indexed in APA PsycArticles are not covered. This includes APA-hosted journals from the Canadian Psychological Association, Hogrefe Publishing, and the National Institute of Mental Health.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Research Articles
- Brief Reports
- Review Articles
How to use the agreement
To be eligible, the corresponding author must, at the time of submission, affiliate with the University of Melbourne. This must be their first and primary affiliation.
When possible, the corresponding author should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). They should provide this in the publisher's submission platform and use it for correspondence.
For details on how to use the APA agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section in the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2024 (for articles submitted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all ASME journals. This includes ASME's hybrid journals and their one open access journal, ASME Open Journal of Engineering.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This does not need to be their first affiliation; any affiliation order is acceptable.
Eligible article types
All article types are eligible. There are no exclusions.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). They should provide this in the publisher's submission platform and use it for correspondence.
For details on how to use the ASME agreement, please refer to the ASME website. Also see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information:
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in selected Brill journals. Only journals to which the University currently subscribes are covered.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
Most Brill journals are excluded from this agreement. Only those in the covered titles list above are included.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This does not need to be their first affiliation; any affiliation order is acceptable.
Eligible article types
- Research articles
- Review articles
- Case reports
- Brief reports
- Rapid communications
Article types excluded from this agreement include: book review; editorial/introduction; interview; obituary.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
If submitting through Brill’s Editorial Manager system, authors will be asked whether their institution has a read-and-publish agreement.
If submitting directly to a journal contact, authors must request to publish open access and indicate that their institution has a read-and-publish agreement.
For details on how to use the Brill agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- Brill - Institutional Open Access Agreements
- Brill - Information for Authors from Australia and New Zealand
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Transformative agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in most hybrid and fully open access Cambridge University Press journals.
Expanded coverage in 2025 means that the Prisms and Research Directions portfolios are now included. Only articles accepted to these portfolios from 1 January 2025 are eligible. Inclusion of the Prisms portfolio continues in 2026, however, the Research Directions series of open access journals will have ceased publication at the end of 2025.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
Several journals are excluded from this agreement as they do not yet have open access publishing options.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This does not need to be their first affiliation; any affiliation order is acceptable.
Find out more about Cambridge University Press's author roles, including the responsibilities of corresponding authors, on their Authorship and contributorship for journals page.
Eligible article types
- Research Articles
- Review Articles
- Rapid Communications
- Brief Report
- Case Report
The article types not eligible for coverage include: Abstracts, Addendums, Article commentary, Book reviews, Books Received, Calendars, Collections, Commentaries, Contents, Correction, Corrigendum, Discussion, Editorial, Erratum, In Brief, Introduction, Letter, Meeting Report, News, Obituary, Oration, Product Review, Reply, Retraction
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This should be used in all Cambridge University Press, Ironclad, and Rightslink systems and correspondence. This helps ensure the University of Melbourne affiliation is recognised.
For details on how to use the agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page. The typical process is as follows:
- Follow CUP’s usual article submission process via the journal’s homepage on Cambridge Core.
- On acceptance of the article, the corresponding author must complete a publishing agreement. This may be sent via the Ironclad system.
- The corresponding author then:
- Selects the "Open Access" publishing option.
- Chooses a Creative Commons licence (e.g. CC BY).
- If prompted, refers the Article Processing Charge (APC) to “My institution”.
- APCs are automatically waived by Rightslink (Copyright Clearance Center) when the corresponding author has affiliated with the University of Melbourne.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- CUP - Read and Publish Agreements
- CUP - Open Access Waivers and Discounts
- CUP - Publishing agreement FAQs for journal authors
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2025 (articles submitted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2025 - 31 December 2027.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors. The agreement covers all 22 Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) owned journals. This includes 19 hybrid journals and 3 fully open access journals.
View the full list of journals on the Canadian Science Publishing website. A list of covered journals is reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation.
Eligible article types
- Article
- Review
- Communication
- Note
- Data Paper
- Comment
- Invited Review
- Letter
- Mini Review
- Research Article
- Science Applications Forum
- Perspective
- Editorial
- Retrospective
- Reply
How to use the agreement
CSP has provided the following guidance for authors using the agreement: Participating CAUL member Author Experience (PDF).
Manuscripts must be submitted through Canadian Science Publishing’s submission platform (ScholarOne Manuscripts).
Corresponding authors should, whenever possible, use their institutional email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email should be used for correspondence and in the publisher's submission platform.
Upon article acceptance, the corresponding author must complete copyright and licence terms and permissions forms. When opting for open access publishing (CC BY licence), the corresponding author should indicate "discount eligibility", then select "Council of Australian Libraries (CAUL)" from the drop-down menu.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Agreement with a fully open access publisher.
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles submitted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all Cogitatio journals. These titles are reflected in our all covered journals spreadsheet.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This does not need to be their first affiliation; any affiliation order is acceptable.
Eligible article types
All article types are eligible. There are no exclusions.
How to use the agreement
To be recognised as eligible, the corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This affiliation must be cleary stated in abstract and article submissions using Cogitatio's online submission platform.
When possible, for easy verification of affiliation, corresponding authors should use their institutional email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This should be used for correspondence and in the publisher's submission platform. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Further information
Cogitatio Press - Institutional members
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement.
Status
Active from 1 January 2023 (articles accepted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2025 - 31 December 2027.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in four Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (CSH Press) journals. These journals, reflected in our all covered journals spreadsheet, are:
- Genes & Development
- Genome Research
- Learning & Memory
- RNA
Journal exclusions
Three CSH Press journals are not included in the agreement: CSH Perspectives in Biology, CSH Perspectives in Medicine, and CSH Protocols. Author-facing Article Processing Charges (APCs) will apply for open access publishing in these titles.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
Fully peer-reviewed research articles accepted for publication. Certain article types, including editorials and comments, are excluded from this agreement.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
According to the CSH Press FAQ: "Upon acceptance of a corresponding author’s paper, the author will be informed of his or her Open Access publishing options. They can indicate their choice to publish OA when they submit their License to Publish form."
Further information
- CSH Press Transformative Agreements FAQ
- Institutions with current CSHL Press Transformative Agreements
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Transformative agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all Company of Biologists journals. This includes the publisher’s three hybrid journals (Development, Journal of Cell Science, and Journal of Experimental Biology) and two open access journals (Biology Open and Disease Models and Mechanisms).
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This does not need to be their first affiliation; any affiliation order is acceptable.
Eligible article types
- Research articles.
How to use the agreement
Submissions should be made using the Company of Biologists's Bench>Press submission platform.
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). As advised by CoB: "When providing your contact details, please include your institutional email address, as well as the full name and address of your institution, including country" (CAUL).
Processes may differ between journals. According to CoB: "If you are submitting an article to Development, Journal of Cell Science or Journal of Experimental Biology, please follow the on-screen instructions and be sure to select “Gold Open Access” and “Read & Publish fee waiver”. (Please note: This step is not required for Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open.)"
When your article has been accepted for publication, follow the link provided by CoB to their RightsLink system. As we have opted for a touch-free workflow, the fee waiver should be applied automatically.
For details on how to use the Company of Biologists agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Did you know?
The Company of Biologists plants a tree in a UK forest for each research or review article they publish. Each tree is represented virtually in the Forest of Biologists.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all 27 CSIRO-owned journals.
Expanded coverage in 2026 sees the agreement cover two additional journals: Microbiology Australia and Australian Zoologist. Only articles accepted to these journals from 1 January 2026 are eligible.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Note that several CSIRO Publishing open access journals do not charge APCs (see DOAJ). Although they are not listed in our covered journals list, they remain free for authors.
Journal exclusions
Several society-run journals are excluded from this agreement.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Article (including Article; Early Access)
- Review (including Review; Early Access)
Article types excluded from this agreement include, but are not limited to: Editorial; Foreward; Letter to the Editor; Comment/Response; Book Review; Corrigendum; Letter.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Submissions must be made through CSIRO’s submission platform, ScholarOne. Eligible authors will be identified by their email addresses and/or Ringgold ID (organisational identifier).
For details on how to use the CSIRO Publishing agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in De Gruyter journals.
From 1 January 2026, our agreement with De Gruyter has expanded to include unlimited open access publishing in:
- 117 hybrid journals
- 124 Subscribe to Open journals
- 74 fully open access (gold) journals
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types include
- Research article
- Review article
- Reports
Article types excluded from this agreement include, but are not limited to: errata; obituary; book reviews; editorials; letters.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
The following workflow summary was provided to CAUL by De Gruyter:
- Article is accepted.
- Eligible authors are recognized by affiliated email domains (or optionally by Ringgold numbers).
- If matched, articles are accepted automatically in Rights Link.
- Authors are informed via email notifications about the free open access publication.
More information on De Gruyter’s submission processes can be found on their website. Details can also be found in the De Gruyter agreement's entry on CAUL R&P Guide page.
2025 journal coverage and exclusions
Only journals to which the University currently subscribes are covered, which prior to 2026 was a limited selection of journals. De Gruyter’s fully open access (gold) journals were not covered under the agreement prior to 2026, although an APC discount was available.
2025 related discount
Prior to 2026, when publishing in eligible fully open access (gold) journals, University of Melbourne corresponding authors could receive a 20% APC discount. See "Discounts on open access publishing fees" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2023 (for articles accepted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2029.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in hybrid Elsevier journals.
Expanded coverage in 2026 sees the inclusion of hybrid journals in the Cell Press and Lancet portfolios. Only articles accepted to these journals from 1 January 2026 are eligible.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list. The ultimate authority for coverage is Elsevier's participating journals list, reflected in their Journal Finder.
Fully open access journals are excluded from the agreement. Author-facing APCs will apply.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's responsible corresponding author must provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation both in Elsevier's Online Author Communication System (OACS) and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
The following article types are eligible for open access under this agreement:
- Full Length articles
- Review articles
- Case Reports
- Protocols
- Short Communications
- Micro Articles
- Original Software Publications
- Short Surveys
- Data
- Practice guidelines
- Replication Studies
- Video Articles
Note that some Elsevier journals use different terms when referring to the article types they publish. Check with your journal editors if you are unsure whether a particular article type is eligible.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This should be used for correspondence and in the publisher's systems. This assists with verification of your University affiliation.
- Follow Elsevier's usual submission process.
- On acceptance, the corresponding author must complete a Rights and Access form in the OACS. This is the author's publishing agreement with Elsevier.
- In this form, the corresponding author must:
- Select the University of Melbourne as their organisation.
- Select the "Gold Open Access" publishing option.
- Select a Creative Commons licence (e.g., CC BY).
- Coverage under the capped agreement is sent to the CAUL consortium for approval. They will quickly approve APC waivers for corresponding authors affiliated with the University of Melbourne.
As noted in Elsevier's Publishing Journey website: "If the institution does not validate paying the APC, then you receive an invoice for the full APC. In case you have no funding available, you contact the us via email to change the publishing option to subscription to publish free of charge within two weeks of Elsevier sending the invoice."
For details on how to use the Elsevier agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Related discount
University of Melbourne corresponding authors may be eligible for a 15% APC discount in some journals not covered by this agreement. The discount includes Elsevier's fully open access (gold) journals. See "Discounts on open access publishing fees" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
2025 journal coverage and exclusions
Limited (capped) open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in selected hybrid Elsevier journals. The covered journals list included over 1,600 Elsevier journals.
Lancet and Cell Press journals were excluded from the 2023-2025 agreement. Some journals in Elsevier's core hybrid collection were not eligible. Check the 2025 coverage lists (available in the Open Access Publishing page FAQ) to confirm journal eligibility.
Fully open access journals are also excluded from the agreement. Author-facing APCs apply.
2025 cap details
Prior to 2026, this was a capped agreement. There was a limit to the number of articles that could have their open access publishing fees covered under the agreement during the calendar year.
This cap was not reached in 2025, when it was set at 100% of participating institutions' 2021 publication count in eligible journals.
All Australian universities that have signed the CAUL-negotiated agreement contributed to the same annual cap, tracked on the CAUL R&P Guide's Elsevier page.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- Elsevier Publishing Journey (refer to the section "Gold Open Access: Central Funding Agreement")
- UPUBLISH (advice and guidance from Elsevier ANZ, including further information on the R&P agreement)
- Elsevier - Agreement between CAUL Consortium and Elsevier
- Elsevier - Find a participating journal in this agreement by title or subject area
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Type
Read and Publish agreement (the "publish where you read" option via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2026 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in selected Emerald journals. Hybrid (subscription) journals to which the University currently subscribes are covered, plus Emerald Gold open access titles. In 2026, this covers hybrid journals in the Management eJournal Portfolio, the Education eJournal Collection, and Emerald's Gold open access titles.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
Titles in the other eJournal Collections (e.g., Engineering, Health and Social Care, Library Studies) are not covered by this agreement. Fully open access journals are not covered.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation both in Emerald's publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Research Paper
- Practitioner Paper
- Case Study
- General Review
- Literature Review
- Precis
- Original Article
- Empirical Research Article
- Standard Paper
- Article
Article types classified as non-article-content (NAC) by Emerald are excluded from this agreement.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Upon article acceptance, the corresponding author will receive an email to confirm the Emerald contact. When selecting a publishing option, choose "Accept voucher," then proceed to select a Creative Commons licence (CC BY by default).
For further details on how to use the Emerald agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles submitted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in eight journals. The following titles are covered:
- Earth Science, Systems and Society (fully open access)
- Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
- Geoenergy
- Journal of the Geological Society
- Petroleum Geoscience
- Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
- Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
- Scottish Journal of Geology
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Book series and conference proceeding coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in five book series. The following series (including a conference proceeding) are covered:
- Energy Geoscience Conference
- Engineering Geology Special Publications
- GeoHorizons (fully open access)
- Memoirs
- Special Publications
Coverage restrictions
The agreement only covers the journals and book/conference series specified above. It does not cover the full range of Lyell Collection titles.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, corresponding authors must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Research articles
- Reviews and perspective articles
- Review focus series
- Thematic collection articles
- Discussion papers
- Case studies
- Technical notes
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
For details on how to use the Geological Society agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- The Geological Society - Publish open access
- The Geological Society - Read and publish and discounted open access for authors and institutions
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2023 (for articles accepted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in most hybrid and open access IOP Publishing journals.
Expanded coverage in 2026 sees the inclusion of Medical Engineering & Physics. Only articles accepted to this journal from 1 January 2026 are eligible.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
Some IOP titles are excluded from the agreement. Exclusions include titles from partner societies (Chinese Physical Society and American Astronomical Society) and conference proceedings.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
As IOP explains: "The corresponding author is the person listed as Corresponding Author at the time of submission, and is the person responsible for communicating with the journal during the peer review and publication process."
Eligible article types
Article types are eligible for coverage under the IOP agreement include:
- Research articles
- Special issue articles
- Review articles
- Letters
Note that only "primary research articles" are eligible for open access in Reports on Progress in Physics under the agreement.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
When assessing the article, IOP will use the corresponding author's affiliation to confirm their eligibility. Once confirmed, they will send the corresponding author an email with the subject line: "Open access options for your article."
Either during peer review or upon acceptance, the corresponding author will be asked to sign an open access copyright form. This will facilitate open access publishing under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.
For details on how to publish open access using this agreement, see IOP's Guide to submitting under a transformative agreement. Also see the "Open access workflow" section of the publisher's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- IOP Publishing Transformative and Institutional Open Access Agreements
- IOP Publishing Transformative Agreement Hub
- CAUL IOP Publishing leaflet (PDF)
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2024 (for articles submitted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in hybrid John Benjamins journals.
Expanded coverage in 2026 sees the agreement cover InContext: Studies in Translation and Interculturalism. Coverage of this journal begins with volume 6, issue 1.
Although not technically covered by this agreement, John Benjamins' two fully open access journals (Korean Linguistics and Language and Linguistics) are free to publish in. They do not levy APCs to authors.
From 2026, Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics is no longer included in the agreement.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This does not need to be their first affiliation; any affiliation order is acceptable.
As defined by the publisher: "The corresponding author is the author that submits the manuscript and is responsible for communicating with the journal during the submission, peer review and publication process" (CAUL).
The publisher will first try to match corresponding author affiliations against institutions' unique ROR identifiers. If a match isn't found, they will try matching based on email domain (unimelb.edu.au).
Eligible article types
- Research articles
- Review articles
- Book reviews
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
For details on how to use the John Benjamins agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- John Benjamins - Open Access Information
- John Benjamins - Read & Publish Deals
- John Benjamins - Read & Publish Agreements FAQ
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all Microbiology Society journals.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation and email address.
Eligible article types
All article types are eligible. There are no exclusions.
How to use this agreement
Corresponding authors must use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au) in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation. If you are unable to use an institutional email address, please discuss this with the journal editor.
Microbiology Society provided the following workflow summary to CAUL:
- Corresponding authors can check their fee-free eligibility and then indicate the "Publish and Read" route for OA during the submission process.
- We check corresponding author eligibility as part of the submission and publication process using email domain names.
- The corresponding author's affiliation must match the paying institution on the date of acceptance.
- Affiliation to a "Publish and Read" institution as stated in the accepted paper is the decisive parameter for eligibility.
- Providing correct affiliation information (including an institutional email address) is the responsibility of corresponding authors.
For details on how to use the Microbiology Society agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2025 - 31 December 2027.
Journal coverage
Unlimited (uncapped) open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in hybrid Oxford University Press (OUP) journals.
Journals that transition from hybrid to fully open access in 2026 and 2027 will remain in the agreement.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
Fully open access journals are not included in this agreement (author-facing APCs will still apply). Also note that some of OUP's subscription journals do not yet offer hybrid open access publishing and thus are not covered under the agreement.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types include
- Research articles
- Review articles
- Case reports
- Brief reports
How to use the agreement
The corresponding authors must, at the time of submission, provide a University of Melbourne affiliation as the 'Primary Address' for their profile in the OUP publishing platform.
Note that the platform (manuscriptcentral.com) will ask for your institution at step 2 of creating or editing an account. It will try to find a matching institutional Ringgold ID (a unique identifier). You may need to enter "The University of Melbourne" or "University of Melbourne" plus your school, centre, unit, or faculty name to find a match. Matching to a University of Melbourne Ringgold ID is necessary to ensure coverage.
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
For details on how to use the OUP agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Related discount
When publishing in fully open access Oxford University Press journals, University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 10% APC discount.
See "Discounts on open access publishing fees" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- OUP - Read and Publish Agreements
- OUP - Australia and New Zealand Institutions (CAUL affiliated)
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all Biochemical Society journals.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
All article types are covered. There are no exclusions.
How to use the agreement
The corresponding author will validate their affiliation during submission. They should be notified immediately if they are eligible to publish under the Read and Publish agreement.
For details on how to use the Portland Press agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in all Royal Society journals. The agreement includes both hybrid and fully open access titles.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
According to the Royal Society: "There is flexibility in circumstances whereby a corresponding author submits an article near the end of their tenure, but it's accepted after their departure" (CAUL).
Eligible article types
- Original Research
- Reviews
- Opinion Pieces
- Perspectives
- Comments
- Editorials
- Corrections, retractions, expression of Concern
- Reports
- Methods and Techniques
- Open questions
- Short Communications
- Evidence Synthesis
- Biological Science Practice
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
The Royal Society provides the following advice: "When authors submit, they need to answer questions about the article. One of the questions is whether you want to opt for Open Access. If they answer yes, the system will check to see if they are eligible for Read & Publish." (CAUL)
For guidance on how to use this agreement, see the "Ease of submission" section on The Royal Society's Read & Publish for authors page. Also see the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2023 (articles accepted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in most hybrid Sage journals. Covered journals are those in the Sage Premier Package that offer open access publishing via Sage Choice.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Journal exclusions
Several hybrid journals are excluded from the agreement as they do not yet support open access publishing via Sage Choice. Titles in the Royal Society of Medicine and IMechE journal collections are also excluded from this agreement.
Fully open access (Gold) journals are not included in the agreement, although an APC discount is available (see below).
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Original Research Papers
- Review Papers
- Brief Communications
- Short Reports
- Case Reports
The agreement does not cover: Articles published as part of commercially sponsored supplements, Errata, Book reviews, Editorials, Published abstracts, Call for papers, News items or similar.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Sage has provided the following advice: "During the submission of the article, the submitting author is responsible for correctly identifying the institutional affiliation of all authors, to identify the corresponding author, and to provide institutional email addresses. When entering an institutional affiliation, Sage provides the author with suggested matches during this process. The author is responsible for selecting the appropriate match." (CAUL)
According to the Sage website: "Sage will contact all eligible authors to inform them of the agreement and invite them to the Sage Open Access Portal to take up the offer as soon as their accepted article has been received into Sage’s Production department."
For further details on how to use the Sage agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section of the agreement's entry in the CAUL R&P Guide.
Related discount
University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 20% APC discount in Sage's fully open access (Gold) journals.
See "Discounts on open access publishing fees" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
2025 journal coverage note
CAUL was notified mid-2025 that over 40 titles originally present in the 2025 eligible title list provided by Sage were included in error. These titles are within the Royal Society of Medicine and IMechE journal collections. If you have submitted to one of these journals and, upon acceptance, are facing an Article Processing Charge (APC), please get in touch with the Scholarly Communications team.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- Sage Publishing - Open Access Agreements
- Sage Publishing - Australia & New Zealand (CAUL)
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in some Springer Nature journals.
The agreement includes hybrid journals from the following Springer Nature imprints: Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, ADIS, Birkhäuser, J.B. Metzler, and Academic Journals on nature.com. Journals in these portfolios that transitioned from hybrid to fully open access since 2023 remain eligible in 2026.
From 2026, the agreement includes open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in fully open access SpringerOpen and PalgraveOpen journals. While this is also uncapped, if publishing numbers exceed the publisher quota, a flat fee per article will be charged to the institution in the next billing cycle and participation may be reviewed.
Journal exclusions
This agreement does not cover Nature and other Nature research journals.
Fully open access journals beyond the SpringerOpen and PalgraveOpen imprints are not covered by this agreement. This means that journals published by BMC (BioMed Central), and fully open access journals in the Nature portfolio (including Nature Communications and Scientific Reports) are not covered. Authors will face open access publishing fees (APCs) when publishing in these journals.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the Springer Nature publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Original Paper: Standard article, generally presenting new results which may also be referred to as Original Research, Original Article, Original Paper or Research Paper.
- Review Paper: Standard article, interpreting previously published results.
- Brief Communication: Short article submitted for rapid publication that exhibits the same structure as a standard article.
- Continuing Education: Article forming integral part of further education (usually medical).
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Submitting from a computer with a University IP Address also helps verify affiliation. This can be done by using on-campus wi-fi or the University’s VPN.
For details on how to use the Springer Nature agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section in the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Related discount
University of Melbourne corresponding authors may be eligible for a 15% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs) in BMC journals.
See "Discounts on open access publishing fees" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
2025 journal coverage
Limited (capped) open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in some hybrid Springer Nature journals. The agreement includes hybrid journals from the following imprints: Springer, Palgrave Macmillan, ADIS, Birkhäuser, J.B. Metzler, and Academic Journals on nature.com.
Note that journals in the above portfolios that transitioned from hybrid to fully open access in 2023, 2024, and 2025 remain eligible in 2025. Articles accepted for publishing in these open access journals after the cap has been reached (see below) will face an Article Processing Charge (APC).
This was a capped agreement (see notice below). The annual cap was exhausted on 9 October 2025.
This agreement does not cover Nature and other Nature research journals.
Fully open access journals, including those published by SpringerOpen and BMC (BioMed Central), are not included in this agreement. Authors will face open access publishing fees (APCs) when publishing in these journals.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
2025 CAP NOTICE: The 2025 annual open access coverage cap for Springer Nature journals was reached on 9 October 2025. Eligible articles must have been accepted for publication and authors must have completed their author agreements before the cap was reached in order to be covered. No cap applies for articles accepted from 1 January 2026.
Articles accepted to hybrid (subscription) journals between 9 October and 31 December 2025 can be published behind a paywall without authors facing an open access Article Processing Charge (APC). Note that other publication fees, such as page charges, may apply. Authors can pursue free repository open access pathways by depositing their Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) to Minerva Access .
Note that 47 fully open access journals (formerly hybrid) are included in the Springer Nature agreement. Articles accepted to these open access journals on or after 9 October will face the payment of an APC for publication. The Library does not have funds available to cover APCs or other publishing fees if they arise. If you are submitting to a capped open access journal, ensure you have access to funds to pay the APC, if required. -
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active from 1 January 2023 (for articles accepted from this date).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in most hybrid and open access Taylor & Francis journals.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
While this is agreement is uncapped from 1 January 2026, if publishing numbers exceed the publisher quota, the agreement may be renegotiated between CAUL and the publisher, with a potential impact on agreement terms.
Journal exclusions
This agreement excludes journals published under the Dove Press, PeerJ, and F1000 imprints. It excludes articles published through the F1000 Research platform.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
Only Taylor & Francis's core content types are covered. This includes:
- Article
- Review
- Research Article
- Review Article
- Report
- Short Communication
- Case Report
- Note
- Original Article
- Guest Editorial
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Taylor & Francis (T&F) provided CAUL with the following summary of author workflows:
- The Corresponding Author (CA) submits to an eligible journal.
- The article goes through thorough peer-review.
- If the article is accepted, the CA will receive a notification to let them know.
- The CA will then receive a link to complete their Author Publishing Agreement.
- The CA must confirm information such as funding information.
- The CA can then request open access funding for their article through the agreement. The system will let them know about the agreement in place with the institution they are affiliated to.
- The CA will choose the Creative Commons licence they wish to publish the article under (CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND for articles in Open Select journals).
- The CA will sign the Author Publishing Agreement.
- T&F will then send a notification to CAUL asking them to approve open access funding.
- T&F will let the CA know once the article has been approved for open access funding under the agreement.
- T&F will also let the CA know if the article is declined for open access funding under the agreement, and the options available to them.
For details on using the Taylor & Francis agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section in the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
2025 journal coverage
Limited (capped) open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in most hybrid Taylor & Francis journals.
Fully open access journals are excluded from the agreement (APCs will still apply). Publications in F1000 and Dove Press journals are out of scope. The T&F Expert Medicine Collection was covered by a separate agreement in 2025.
This was a capped agreement (see notice below). The annual cap was exhausted on 24 October 2025.
2025 related discount
University of Melbourne corresponding authors were eligible for a 10% APC discount in Taylor & Francis hybrid (subscription) journals excluded from the 2025 agreement, and for covered journals after the 2025 cap was reached. See "Discounts on open access publishing fees" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- Taylor & Francis - CAUL Transformative Agreement
- Taylor & Francis - Using the Taylor & Francis Submission Portal
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
2025 CAP NOTICE: The 2025 annual open access coverage cap for Taylor & Francis journals was reached on 24 October. Eligible articles must have been accepted for publication and authors must have completed their author agreements before the cap was reached in order to be covered. No cap applies for articles accepted from 1 January 2026.
Articles accepted to hybrid (subscription) journals between 24 October and 31 December 2025 can be published behind a paywall without authors facing an open access Article Processing Charge (APC). Note that other publication fees, such as page charges, may apply. For paywalled articles, authors can pursue free repository open access pathways by depositing their Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) to Minerva Access .
Note that 7 fully open access journals (formerly hybrid) are included in the Taylor & Francis agreement. Articles accepted to these open access journals on or after 24 October will face the payment of an APC for publication. The Library does not have funds available to cover APCs or other publishing fees if they arise. If you are submitting to a capped open access journal, ensure you have access to funds to pay the APC, if required.
Also note that the T&F Expert Medicine Collection of 17 journals was covered by a separate agreement in 2025 and was not subject to this cap. -
2026 NOTICE: From 1 January 2026, this agreement has been folded into the expanded and uncapped Taylor & Francis Read and Publish agreement.
2025 NOTICE: The 17 journals in the Taylor & Francis Expert Medicine Collection, covered by this agreement, are not subject to the annual open access publishing cap of the main Taylor & Francis Read and Publish agreement. This is an uncapped agreement that covers an unlimited amount of open access publishing in 2025.Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2021 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Agreement term
1 January 2024 - 31 December 2025.
From 2026, these journals are now part of the expanded Taylor & Francis Read and Publish agreement.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in hybrid Taylor & Francis Expert Medicine Collection journals. Eligible titles were formerly published by Future Science Group.
Journal exclusions
Fully open access journals in the Expert Medicine Collection are not included in this agreement (author-facing APCs will apply). Other hybrid Taylor & Francis journals may be eligible for our separate Taylor & Francis Read and Publish agreement.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
The following article types are eligible for open access under this agreement:
- Review type articles
- Original research type articles
- Editorial type articles
Article types excluded from this agreement include, but are not limited to, Plan Language Summaries Publications (PLSP), and all sponsored articles and drug evaluations.
How to use the agreement
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Taylor & Francis (T&F) provided CAUL with the following summary of author workflows:
- The Corresponding Author (CA) submits to an eligible journal.
- The article goes through thorough peer-review.
- If the article is accepted, the CA will receive a notification to let them know.
- The CA will then receive a link to complete their Author Publishing Agreement.
- The CA must confirm information such as funding information.
- The CA can then request open access funding for their article through the agreement. The system will let them know about the agreement in place with the institution they are affiliated to.
- The CA will choose the Creative Commons licence they wish to publish the article under (CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND for articles in Open Select journals).
- The CA will sign the Author Publishing Agreement.
- T&F will then send a notification to CAUL asking them to approve open access funding.
- T&F will let the CA know once the article has been approved for open access funding under the agreement.
- T&F will also let the CA know if the article is declined for open access funding under the agreement, and the options available to them.
For guidance on using this agreement, see the "Open access workflow" section in the agreement's CAUL R&P Guide page.
Note regarding Future Science Group and Taylor & Francis
Future Science Group was acquired by Taylor & Francis in December 2023. This agreement, signed before the acquisition, will be honoured by T&F. It is not subject to the article cap in place for the main T&F Read and Publish agreement. In 2024, this agreement was renamed the "Taylor & Francis Expert Medicine Collection" (formerly the "Future Science Group Transitional Agreement"). From 2026, these journals are now part of the expanded Taylor & Francis Read and Publish agreement.
Further information
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
-
2026 FULLY OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL CAP NOTICE: The 2026 annual coverage cap for Wiley's fully open access journals is projected to be reached in November 2026. To be covered, eligible articles must have been accepted for publication and authors must have completed their author agreements before the cap is reached. This cap will reset on 1 January 2027.
Articles accepted to Wiley open access journals after the cap is reached will face the payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication. The Library does not have funds available to cover APCs or other publishing fees if they arise. If you are submitting to a capped open access journal, ensure you have access to funds to pay any publishing fees.Note that open access publishing in Wiley's hybrid journals is uncapped in 2026.
Type
Read and Publish agreement (via CAUL).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022.
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028.
Journal coverage
Unlimited open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in Wiley hybrid (subscription) journals.
Limited (capped) open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in Wiley open access journals.
Covered journals are reflected in our 2026 all covered journals spreadsheet. They will also be included in CAUL's 2026 title list.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's responsible corresponding author must provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This does not need to be their first affiliation; any affiliation order is acceptable. Note that Wiley articles can have more than one corresponding author, but only one designated responsible corresponding author.
Eligible article types
See Wiley's full list of article classifications (.xlsx download), wherein column C notes eligibility. Eligible types include:
- Primary research and review articles, including original articles
- Case studies
- Reviews
- Short Communications
Cap details
The cap for fully open access journals has been increased in 2026. This cap is projected to be reached in late 2026.
If the open access journal cap is reached, eligible authors of eligible article types will receive a 20% discount on the APC.
Open access publishing in Wiley's hybrid journals is uncapped from 2026.
How to use the agreement for hybrid (subscription) Wiley journals
See Wiley's step-by-step guide for using the agreement with hybrid journals (PDF). The steps can be summarised as follows:
- Follow Wiley's usual submission and review processes.
- On article acceptance, in Wiley's Author Services platform, confirm a responsible corresponding author. This nominated author will determine eligibility for an open access publishing agreement.
- In the Author Services platform, confirm open access publishing and nominate a Creative Commons licence. Eligibility is recognised automatically based on institutional affiliation and article type. The responsible corresponding author must affiliate with the University of Melbourne.
- Upon completion of the Author Services process, the funding request will be sent to CAUL for approval. The responsible corresponding author must use their University of Melbourne affiliation to be recognised as eligible. CAUL will approve funding under the agreement for eligible authors within a few days of a DOI being assigned. Coverage of the article's APC will be confirmed by email.
How to use the agreement for open access Wiley journals
See Wiley's step-by-step guide for using the agreement with open access journals (PDF). The steps can be summarised as follows:
- When first submitting to the journal, nominate a responsible corresponding author. This author will determine eligibility for an open access publishing agreement.
- Eligibility is recognised automatically based on institutional affiliation and article type. The responsible corresponding author must affiliate with the University of Melbourne. This eligibility will be confirmed in the submission system.
- Article review proceeds as usual.
- Upon article acceptance, Wiley sends a funding request to CAUL. CAUL will approve funding under the agreement for eligible authors within a few days of a DOI being assigned. Coverage of the article's APC will be confirmed by email.
For further details on how to use the Wiley agreement, including screenshots, see the "Open access workflow" section in the CAUL R&P Guide's Wiley page.
Note that CAUL will only approve coverage of eligible articles after a DOI has been assigned. This may be several days, or weeks, after coverage is first requested (upon article acceptance and the completion of Author Services processes).
Related discount
When publishing in eligible fully open access Wiley journals after their cap has been reached, eligible articles can receive a 20% APC discount. Note that this was a 10% discount prior to 1 January 2026.
See "Discounts on open access publishing fees" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
2025 journal coverage
Limited (capped) open access publishing for University of Melbourne corresponding authors in Wiley journals. This included over 1,200 hybrid journals and over 500 open access journals.
2025 cap details
This was a capped agreement prior to 2026. All Australasian universities that signed the CAUL-negotiated agreement drew from the same annual cap. The cap was accessed on a first-come-first-served basis.
In 2025, the publishing cap was been split between:
- hybrid/subscription journals; and,
- fully open access journals.
The hybrid publishing cap was reached on 18 September 2025. The cap was set to cover 80% of anticipated annual publishing. If an article is accepted to a hybrid journal after the cap has been reached, it will be published behind a paywall (unless an APC is paid). Authors should deposit the Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) of paywalled articles in Minerva Access to pursue free repository open access options.
The cap for fully open access journals was reached on 28 October 2025. The cap was set at 100% of anticipated annual publishing in these journals, allowing for a 4% increase on 2024 publishing levels. During 2025, however, publishing rates in these open access journals increased significantly more than expected (over 18% above 2024 levels). Articles accepted for publication in Wiley open access journals after the cap is reached will need to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) to publish.
After a journal's cap has been reached, eligible authors of eligible article types will receive a 10% discount on the APC.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide
- Wiley - Open Access for Authors in Australia and New Zealand
- Wiley - Your Guide to Publishing Open Access with Wiley
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
2025 HYBRID JOURNAL CAP NOTICE: The 2025 annual open access coverage cap for Wiley's hybrid (subscription) journals was reached on 18 September. To be covered, eligible articles must have been accepted for publication and authors must have completed their author agreements before the cap was reached. No cap applies for articles accepted to hybrid Wiley journals from 1 January 2026.
Articles accepted to Wiley hybrid journals between 18 September and 31 December 2025 can be published behind a paywall without authors facing an open access Article Processing Charge (APC). Note that other publication fees, such as page charges, may apply. Authors can pursue free repository open access pathways by depositing their Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs) to Minerva Access.
2025 FULLY OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL CAP NOTICE: The 2025 annual coverage cap for Wiley's fully open access journals was reached on 28 October. To be covered, eligible articles must have been accepted for publication and authors must have completed their author agreements before the cap was reached. This cap reset on 1 January 2026.
Articles accepted to Wiley open access journals between 28 October and 31 December 2025 will face the payment of an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication. The Library does not have funds available to cover APCs or other publishing fees if they arise. If you are submitting to a capped open access journal, ensure you have access to funds to pay any publishing fees.
Discounts on open access publishing fees
The University has several agreements for discounts on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs) in some journals. Conditions apply, as described below. In most cases, eligibility depends on the corresponding author affiliating primarily with the University of Melbourne. We do not currently have any discounts available for open access book publishing.
Details of journals offering APC discounts to University of Melbourne corresponding authors in 2026 can be found below. The 2025 list applied until 1 January 2026 and can be accessed from the FAQ below.
IMPORTANT: The discounts below include both fully open access and hybrid (subscription) journals. Note that the University's Principles for Open Access discourage the payment of APCs to hybrid journals. Alternative open access pathways are preferred, including through repositories and the publishing options above.
Discounts by publisher
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Discount
USD250 discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for discounted APCs in ACS's hybrid (subscription) journals. Fully open access (gold) journals are not eligible for the discount. Eligible titles are reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
ACS advises: "This discount is only applicable toward open access publishing in hybrid / transformative journals. This does not apply to ACS Au journals or when country discount is applied."
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Further information
ACS Open Science - Pricing (see "Subscriber discounts").
This discount is due to the Library's subscription to ACS journals.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Discount
15% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs) .
Status
Active (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 15% APC discount when publishing in any BioMed Central (BMC) journal. Eligible titles are reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the BMC/Springer Nature system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Original Paper: Standard article, generally presenting new results which may also be referred to as Original Research, Original Article, Original Paper or Research Paper.
- Review Paper: Standard article, interpreting previously published results.
- Brief Communication: Short article submitted for rapid publication that exhibits the same structure as a standard article.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Submitting from a computer with a University IP Address also helps verify affiliation. This can be done by using on-campus wi-fi or the University’s VPN.
Related agreement
We also have an open access publishing agreement with Springer Nature. This Read and Publish agreement covers open access publishing in hybrid journals from certain imprints. As a fully open access imprint, BMC is out of scope of this R&P agreement.
See "Open access publishing agreements" on the Open Access Publishing page for details.
Further information
BioMed Central Institutional Membership information.
This discount is due to the Librarys participation in an Open Access Supporter Agreement with Springer Nature, of which BMC (BioMed Central) is an imprint.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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2026 NOTICE: From 1 January 2026, this APC discount has been replaced by the expanded De Gruyter open access publishing agreement. For eligible authors, this expanded agreement fully covers APCs for the entire De Gruyter portfolio.
Discount
20% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active since 1 January 2022 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Agreement term
1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025.
Replaced by the expanded De Gruyter open access publishing agreement from 1 January 2026.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors can receive a 20% APC discount when publishing in eligible De Gruyter open access journals. Only De Gruyter's fully open access (Gold) journals are eligible. Eligible titles are reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
More information on De Gruyter’s submission processes can be found on their website.
Related agreement
The University has a Read and Publish agreement with De Gruyter that can fully cover APCs in some hybrid journals. Only De Gruyter hybrid journals to which the University subscribes are eligible.
See "Open access publishing agreements" on the Open Access Publishing page for details and eligibility requirements.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide (see "Discount schemes")
- De Gruyter - Open Access Articles
This discount is due to the Library's Read and Publish agreement with De Gruyter.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Discount
15% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active since 1 January 2023 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2029.
Summary
When publishing open access in Elsevier's core hybrid and open access (gold) journals, University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 15% APC discount. Corresponding authors must affiliate primarily with the University of Melbourne to be eligible. Open access Lancet and Cell Press titles are eligible for this discount.
For eligible titles, see our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts or check title eligibility in Elsevier's Journal Finder.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's responsible corresponding author must provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation both in Elsevier's Online Author Communication System (OACS) and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
The following article types are eligible for discounts:
- Full Length articles
- Review articles
- Case Reports
- Protocols
- Short Communications
- Micro Articles
- Original Software Publications
- Short Surveys
- Data
- Practice guidelines
- Replication Studies
- Video Articles
Note that some Elsevier journals use different terms when referring to the article types they publish. Check with your journal editors if you are unsure whether a particular article type is eligible.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Related agreement
The University has a Read and Publish agreement with Elsevier. See "Open access publishing agreements" on the Open Access Publishing page for details and eligibility requirements.
Further information
- CAUL's R&P Guide (see "Discount schemes")
- Elsevier’s APC list prices
- Elsevier's Journal Finder
This discount is due to the Library's Read and Publish agreement with Elsevier.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Discount
10% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active from 1 January 2025 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2025 - 31 December 2027.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors can receive a 10% APC discount when publishing in open access Oxford University Press journals. Only OUP's fully open access journals are eligible. Eligible titles are reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
Article types eligible under this agreement include:
- Research articles
- Review articles
- Case reports
- Brief reports
How to use the discount
The corresponding authors must, at the time of submission, provide a University of Melbourne affiliation as the 'Primary Address' for their profile in the OUP publishing platform.
Note that the platform (manuscriptcentral.com) will ask for your institution at step 2 of creating or editing an account. It will try to find a matching institutional Ringgold ID (a unique identifier). You may need to enter "The University of Melbourne" or "University of Melbourne" plus your school, centre, unit, or faculty name to find a match. Matching to a University of Melbourne Ringgold ID is necessary to ensure coverage.
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Related agreement
The University has an uncapped Read and Publish agreement with Oxford University Press. This covers of an unlimited number of APCs in most of their hybrid (subscription) journals.
See "Open access publishing agreements" on the Open Access Publishing page for details and eligibility requirements.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide (see "Discount schemes")
- OUP - Australia and New Zealand Institutions (CAUL affiliated)
- OUP - Open Access
This discount is due to the Library's Read and Publish agreement with Oxford University Press.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Discount
15% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors can receive a 15% APC discount when publishing open access in hybrid Royal Society of Chemistry journals. RSC's fully open access journals are not eligible for this discount.
Discounted APCs will be displayed when you select "The University of Melbourne" as your institution in RSC's Journal Finder. Eligible titles are reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
In your article acceptance email, opt for "gold open access publication" with a Creative Commons licence. The institution discount should be applied automatically at the "payment options" step. For step-by-step guidance, see: RCS APC discount for UoM corresponding authors - workflows (PDF).
Further information
RSC – How to publish open access
This discount is due to the Library's subscription to the Royal Society of Chemistry 'Gold' journals package.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Discount
20% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active since 1 January 2023 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 20% APC discount in Sage's fully open access journals (Gold journals). For included titles, see Sage's gold journal title list, reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the publishing system and in the article itself.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Sage has provided the following advice: "During the submission of the article, the submitting author is responsible for correctly identifying the institutional affiliation of all authors, to identify the corresponding author, and to provide institutional email addresses. When entering an institutional affiliation, Sage provides the author with suggested matches during this process. The author is responsible for selecting the appropriate match." (CAUL)
Related agreement
The University's Read and Publish agreement with Sage covers select hybrid journals. Using this agreement, University of Melbourne corresponding authors can avoid APCs for open access publishing in hybrid titles.
Further information
- Sage Gold Open Access Journals
- Sage - Australia & New Zealand (CAUL)
- CAUL R&P Guide (see "Discount schemes")
This APC discount is due to the Library's particpation in the Sage Read and Publish agreement.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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2026 NOTICE: From 1 January 2026, open access journals in the SpringerOpen portfolio are eligible for full APC coverage under the expanded and uncapped Springer Nature Read and Publish agreement. Conditions and eligibility requirements apply. This APC discount arrangement will cease to apply from 1 January 2026.
Discount
15% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Agreement term
1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 15% APC discount when publishing in any fully open access Springer or Discover journals from Springer Nature. Eligible titles are reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
Note that this agreement only covers open access titles from the Springer, Discover, and BMC (BioMed Central) imprints of Springer Nature. This discount does not extend to other imprints, such as the Nature portfolio.
Eligible authors
To be eligible, the article's corresponding author must, at the time of submission, provide their University of Melbourne affiliation. This must be their first and primary affiliation in the Springer Nature publishing system and in the article itself.
Eligible article types
- Original Paper: Standard article, generally presenting new results which may also be referred to as Original Research, Original Article, Original Paper or Research Paper.
- Review Paper: Standard article, interpreting previously published results.
- Brief Communication: Short article submitted for rapid publication that exhibits the same structure as a standard article.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Submitting from a computer with a University IP Address also helps verify affiliation. This can be done by using on-campus wi-fi or the University’s VPN.
Related agreement
We also have a Read and Publish agreement with Springer Nature. In 2025, this agreement covered a limited amount of open access publishing in hybrid journals from certain imprints, including Springer. Fully open access journals were out of scope of this R&P agreement.
Further information
SpringerOpen Institutional Membership information
This discount is due to the University's participation in an Open Access Supporter Agreement with Springer Nature. Springer and Discover are both imprints of Springer Nature.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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2026 NOTICE: From 1 January 2026, this APC discount has been replaced by the expanded and uncapped Taylor & Francis Read and Publish agreement. Conditions and eligibility requirements apply.
Discount
10% discount on open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Status
Active since 1 January 2023 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Agreement term
1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025.
Summary
University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 10% APC discount when publishing open access in some Taylor & Francis journals.
The discount applies to Open Select (hybrid) journals excluded from the Taylor & Francis open access publishing agreement. It also applies to journals covered by the agreement after the annual open access publishing cap has been reached.
For eligible titles, see the CAUL titles list, reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Related agreement
The University has a Read and Publish agreement with Taylor & Francis. In 2025, this covered a limited number of open access APCs for eligible authors in most hybrid T&F journals.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide (see "Discount schemes")
- Taylor & Francis Open Access Cost Finder
This discount is due to the Library's Read and Publish agreement with Taylor & Francis.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
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Discount
20% discount on Article Processing Charges (APCs) after a journal's annual open access publishing cap has been reached. Note that only Wiley's fully open access journals are capped under the new Wiley Read and Publish agreement.
Status
Active since 1 January 2025 (for articles accepted during the term of the agreement).
Current agreement term
1 January 2026 - 31 December 2026.
Summary
This discount only comes into play when an annual open access publishing cap has been reached in the Wiley Read and Publish agreement.
University of Melbourne corresponding authors are eligible for a 10% APC discount (20% from 2026) when publishing in Wiley journals that were eligible under the open access publishing agreement before the cap was reached.
The University of Melbourne author must be the article's responsible corresponding author for the article to be eligible. Eligibility is determined at the time of article acceptance and the responsible corresponding author's completion of subsequent actions in the Author Services platform.
For eligible titles, see the CAUL titles list, reflected in our spreadsheet of all journals with APC discounts.
How to use the discount
When possible, corresponding authors should use their unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). This email address should be used in the publisher's submission platform and all correspondence. This allows for easy verification of affiliation.
Related agreement
The University has a Read and Publish agreement with Wiley, which will cover the APCs of eligible articles in most Wiley journals until caps are reached.
2025 discount
In 2025, this was a 10% discount on Article Processing Charges (APCs). It came into effect after a journal's annual open access publishing cap has been reached.
Further information
- CAUL R&P Guide (see "Discount schemes")
- Wiley - Open Access for Authors in Australia and New Zealand
- Wiley - Your Guide to Publishing Open Access with Wiley
This discount is due to the Library's Read and Publish agreement with Wiley.
Link directly to this information | Return to the Open Access Publishing page
FAQ
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Yes. All UOM students and graduate researchers are eligible to use our open access publishing agreements. This includes recent graduates publishing articles derived from their research theses. The agreements can only be used when publishing research conducted at the University.
Authors must affiliate with the University of Melbourne in their article and in the publisher's systems. Where possible, authors should use a unimelb email address (@unimelb.edu.au or @student.unimelb.edu.au). If a non-unimelb email address is used, coverage is usually still possible, but may be delayed while affiliation is verified. In some cases, require follow-up with the publisher may be required.
For most of our agreements, eligibility rests the corresponding author's first or primary affiliation. See each agreement's entry above, under "Agreements by publisher," for details. More information on authorship and author roles can be found on our Scholarly Publishing Library Guide.
If you have any issues using our agreements, please contact your discipline's Liaison Librarians.
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The opportunities for researchers at partner hospitals or Medical Research Institutes (MRIs) to use the University’s open access publishing agreements are very limited.
Under the University’s agreements, article eligibility rests on the primary/responsible corresponding author’s affiliation being with the University of Melbourne itself. In most cases, this must be their first/primary affiliation. Hospitals and most MRIs are considered distinct entities.
This means that, for most of our agreements, affiliating first with a hospital or MRI, then with the University, does not meet eligibility requirements. For example, affiliating primarily with the RMH or WEHI will not allow use of a University of Melbourne open access publishing agreement in most cases.
Note that some agreements will recognise a University of Melbourne affiliation for eligibility regardless of affiliation order. For example, there are several agreements wherein a researcher can affiliate first with a hospital or MRI, then with the University, and can nominate their University affiliation for agreement eligibility.
The “Eligible authors” sections of our agreement summaries indicate whether the corresponding author’s University of Melbourne affiliation must be their first/primary affiliation. If this requirement is not noted, then any affiliation order should be acceptable.
If, after reading agreement details, you are unsure whether your article may be covered, please reach out to your discipline’s Liaison Librarians. For more information on author roles and affiliations, see our Scholarly Publishing Guide.
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Authors are not required to acknowledge their use of our open access publishing agreements. Nonetheless, authors may wish to acknowledge their use of an agreement for transparency. The below statement can be used or adapted to suit an acknowledgment or funding statement:
Open access costs have been covered under an open access publishing agreement between the University of Melbourne and [publisher].
For CAUL-negotiated agreements, the following text might be preferred:
Open access costs have been covered under an open access publishing agreement between the University of Melbourne and [publisher], facilitated by the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL).
Note that some publishers have their own templates for acknowledging the use of agreements. They may apply these by default in some cases.
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For eligible articles, approval is usually either automatic or granted within a few business days. For capped agreements, articles are approved on a first come, first served basis. Most of our agreements are administered by the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL).
Upon article submission or acceptance, the publisher will check eligibility for an open access publishing agreement. They will check journal coverage, author eligibility, and article eligibility. If they confirm eligibility, most publishers will seek approval from CAUL or the University of Melbourne Library.
When approving coverage, the Library and CAUL only consider:
- whether the corresponding author is affiliated with the University of Melbourne, and
- whether the agreement's annual open access publishing cap has been reached.
Rejection of coverage on the Library or CAUL end is rare. It may occur if the corresponding author’s affiliation cannot be verified. This could be because the corresponding author did not affiliate with the University of Melbourne and did not use a unimelb email address. CAUL or the Library will usually try to follow up with authors if affiliation needs to be confirmed.
Should coverage be rejected, the publisher may send the corresponding author an invoice. The author can then contact the publisher and request subscription (paywalled) publishing instead of open access. Note that some publishers require this to be done within a specified period. For example, Elsevier requires this request to be made within two weeks of receiving the invoice.
If you have any issues using an agreement, please contact your discipline's Liaison Librarians.
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Most of our open access publishing agreements are negotiated by the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL) on behalf of Australian universities.
The term (duration) of each of our agreements is noted in the "Agreements by publisher" section above. Agreements ending in 2025 will not be active after 31/12/2025 unless they are renewed.
Many of our major multi-year agreements conclude their terms on 31/12/2025. They are currently being renegotiated by CAUL with input from member libraries. If new deals can be agreed on by negotiators, then offers will be put to member libraries.
When the University of Melbourne Library receives an offer, we undertake a process of critical evaluation. In doing so we consider the value of the agreement, budget conditions, and agreement terms and conditions. For major renewals and new agreements, we consult with relevant faculties and research committees.
We cannot, at this stage, indicate what new agreements might be coming, or whether expiring agreements will be renewed for 2026. The Open Access Publishing page will be updated when new or renewed agreements are signed. This will likely be in November or December 2025.
Also see the FAQ item, "Why don't we have an agreement with a specific publisher?"
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The journals covered by our agreements are usually determined through negotiation. In most cases, these are negotiations between the publisher and the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL). Eligible journal lists are are unlikely to change within the term of the agreement.
Many agreements only cover hybrid (subscription) journals and do not extend to the publisher's fully open access journals. Hence, for example, the fully open access BMC (BioMed Central) imprint is not covered by our hybrid-only agreement with Springer Nature.
Some agreements only cover journals to which the Library has active, up-to-date subscriptions. This is true for our Brill and De Gruyter agreements, which are limited to a selection of high-use titles.
Some agreements exclude certain high-cost portfolios. This is true of our agreements with Elsevier and Springer Nature. In these cases, the prestigeous Lancet and Nature imprints are excluded due to their high open access publishing costs.
Even agreements that cover almost all of a publisher’s portfolio may have some exclusions. These are usually journals that do not yet offer open access publishing as an option. In such cases, authors should pursue a repository open access pathway.
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Open access publishing agreements are currently negotiated by the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL) on behalf of Australian universities. These include both Read and Publish agreements and Transformative agreements.
Several CAUL-negotiated agreements with discipline-specific publishers have not been taken up by the University of Melbourne. This will often be due to a combination of factors, including:
- Limited relevance to the University’s key research areas.
- Limited history of publishing with the journals covered by the agreement.
- Agreement costs and budget constraints.
When CAUL negotiates a new agreement, the University of Melbourne Library needs sufficient time to evaluate the offer and consult with faculties. In the case of Emerald Publishing, for example, the current Read and Publish agreement offer was received too late in 2024 to be considered for the 2025 calendar year. We will evaluate the agreement in 2025 for possible uptake in 2026.
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Open access publishing agreements are currently negotiated by the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL) on behalf of Australian universities. Negotiations have focused on large journal publishers with which libraries already have subscriptions. Current “Read and Publish” agreements have only been possible because they leverage existing library subscription spends.
Open access journals do not require subscriptions. This means that libraries do not have subscription spends with fully open access publishers or imprints. New publishing agreements with these publishers would require a considerable expansion of the Library budget.
Given this financial context, agreements with open access publishers are currently out of scope for CAUL and most libraries. This includes agreements with publishers like PLOS and Frontiers, or imprints like BMC (BioMed Central).
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University of Melbourne researchers are very welcome to recommend publishers or journals with which they’ve had positive experiences. We may not be able to action such recommendations in the short term, but feedback from our academic community helps our future planning, priorities, and agreement evaluations.
Note that our ability to take up new agreements faces various constraints, including limited Library budgets. As such, we cannot predict when new agreements may be signed. We therefore discourage researchers from delaying publication in the hopes that a specific publisher, imprint, or journal will be covered in the near future.
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Attempting to delay publishing after an agreement’s cap has been reached is strongly discouraged by publishers, the University, and the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL).
In most cases, delaying signing a publishing contract will not allow use of the following year’s cap allowance. It will just result in unnecessary publication delays.
The eligibility for most agreements depends on both the date of article acceptance and the date that authors accept the publishing contract. Typically, both must fall before any annual publishing cap has been reached.
Also note that our capped agreements all end on 31 December 2025. We are currently unable to predict what 2026 agreements may look like, or whether the University of Melbourne will participate in the new agreements.
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When deciding where to publish, it is essential that you check what fees are charged by your chosen journal or publisher. This is true whether the journal or publisher is open access, hybrid, or subscription only. And it is true whether or not the title is eligible for an open access publishing agreement or discount.
Most of our open access publishing agreements only cover open access Article Processing Charges (APCs). Journals may still levy other fees that are charged whether or not an article is published open access, including:
- Page charges or colour page charges.
- Service fees of various kinds.
- Submission fees.
In some cases, a journal may waive such fees when an article is published open access. If you’re relying on an open access publishing agreement, it is important to be aware of the capped nature of some of our agreements. Being accepted to an otherwise eligible journal after an agreement’s annual publishing cap has been reached may result in the author having to pay page charges or other service fees that would otherwise have been waived.
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Yes. Spreadsheets listing the journals covered under our 2024 and 2023 open access publishing agreements are available below:
- 2025 All Covered Journals (1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025)
- 2024 All Covered Journals (1 January 2024 - 31 December 2024)
- 2023 All Covered Journals (15 June 2023 - 31 December 2023)
- 2023 All Covered Journals (1 January 2023 - 14 June 2023)
Past lists of journals eligible for Article Processing Charge (APC) discounts are also available:
- 2025 APC Discounts (1 January 2025 - 31 December 2025)
- 2024 APC Discounts (1 January 2024 - 31 December 2024)
- 2023 APC Discounts (1 January 2023 - 31 December 2023)
If you have any questions about past agreements, please contact your discipline's Liaison Librarians.
Enquiries
For enquiries relating to open access publishing, please email your discipline's Liaison Librarians.
Alternatively, you can contact the library with any questions, feedback or suggestions.
Page last updated 23 February 2026.
Unless otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence.
Read and Publish (R&P) agreement
Contracts entered into by institutions and publishers wherein institutions pay for both read access to subscription content and an amount of open access publishing.
The open access publishing component may be uncapped (unlimited) or capped (limited). It may cover only a select titles list from the publisher, or select imprints. In many cases, the agreements only cover select hybrid journals, with publishing fees still being levied for open access journals.
Most of the R&P agreements in place at the University of Melbourne were negotiated by the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL). All of the University’s current R&P agreements are detailed on our Open Access Publishing page.
Subscribe to Open (S2O)
A publishing model wherein a journal makes the coming year’s content open access if their annual subscription target is reached. Content is published open access without author-facing open access Article Processing Charges (APCs).
Similar models have also been adopted by some book publishers, as in the case of MIT Press’s Direct to Open (D2O) program. Participating institutions receive access to the publisher’s backlist/archives and, if participation targets are met, the coming year’s books are published open access.
Some of the S2O initiatives currently supported by the University of Melbourne are listed on our Open Scholarship Initiatives page.
Institutional open access publishing agreements
A contract entered into by an institution, such as a university, and a publisher to facilitate open access publishing. Such agreements may let affiliated corresponding authors to publish open access without facing fees. Such fees are referred to as open access Article Processing Charges (APCs), Book Processing Charges (BPCs), or Chapter Processing Charges (CPCs).
The most common kind of institutional open access publishing agreement today is the Read and Publish agreement. Such agreements, with hybrid/subscription journal publishers, include both read access and an amount of open access publishing. Transformative Agreements that facilitate publishers becoming fully open access have also been emerging. Agreements with fully open access publishers can also be negotiated.
The University of Melbourne's current open access publishing agreements are detailed on the Open Access Publishing page.
Creative Commons licences
Open licences that have become best practice in open access publishing. They are built using a combination of elements:
- BY (Attribution)
- SA (Share-Alike)
- NC (Non-Commercial)
- ND (No Derivatives)
All licences are detailed on the Creative Commons website.
The most open of the licences is the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. This licence allows authors to retain their copyright while granting others permission to distribute, use, adapt, remix, and build upon the material. It only requires that attribution is given to the original creator. This is the preferred licence of the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and the University of Melbourne.
The most restrictive licence is the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. This licence does not allow for any commercial uses or the sharing of any adaptations or derivatives. It greatly restricts how others can use the work. When adopted as part of an exclusive licence to publish with a publisher, it can result in a significant loss of author rights.
Hybrid journals and publishers
A hybrid journal is a subscription journal that allows open access publishing for a fee. These fees are referred to as open access Article Processing Charges (APCs). The journal is hybrid because it contains both open access and paywalled content.
The APCs levied by hybrid journals are, on average, higher than those levied by open access journals. APCs can be waived if an author is eligible for an institutional open access publishing agreement. Some publishers also waive these fees for authors from low-income countries.
Similarly, hybrid book publishers levy Book Processing Charges (BPCs) or Chapter Processing Charges (CPCs) to publish content open access where they would usually be paywalled.
Article Processing Charge (APC)
Fees levied by a journal for publishing an article open access. They are sometimes charged by open access journals and may be their only source of income. Hybrid journals always charge APCs for an article to published open access. For hybrid journals, this is an additional income source to subscriptions.
APCs may be paid by an author, their institution, or a funding body. These charges may be waived if an institutional open access publishing agreement is in place.
Article Processing Charge (APC)
Fees levied by a journal for publishing an article open access. They are sometimes charged by open access journals and may be their only source of income. Hybrid journals always charge APCs for an article to published open access. For hybrid journals, this is an additional income source to subscriptions.
APCs may be paid by an author, their institution, or a funding body. These charges may be waived if an institutional open access publishing agreement is in place.
Book Processing Charge (BPC) / Chapter Processing Charge (CPC)
Fees levied by a book publisher for publishing a book or book chapter open access. Most major academic book publishers will charge a BPC or CPC to publish open access. Some open access book publishers do not levy BPCs or CPCs, being supported by institutions and other funders. BPCs and CPCs may be paid by an author, their institution, or a funding body.
Gold open access
Definitions vary, but “gold” open access typically refers to publishing with fully open access journals or publishers. The output is made freely available immediately upon publication, usually under a Creative Commons licence.
Note that some publishers use the term “gold” to refer to paid open access in subscription journals. Today, this is more commonly referred to as “hybrid” open access.
Diamond open access
The term diamond open access is used to describe fully open access journals or publishers that do not levy publishing fees to authors. The output is made freely available immediately upon publication, usually under a Creative Commons licence, without cost to readers or authors.
Unlike journals covered under our open access publishing agreements, diamond journals do not levy fees to any authors, regardless of affiliation. Diamond journals are not listed in our all-covered-titles spreadsheet, but can be explored in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
Diamond publishing is usually funded by institutions, libraries, organisations, societies, or associations. Some definitions of diamond open access also require that the publisher is non-profit.
The University publishes a range of diamond open access journals, some of which are showcased on our Scholar-Led Journals at the University of Melbourne page. The Library also contributes to several diamond open access publishing initiatives, as covered on our Open Scholarship Initiatives page.