Royal Society

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