Springer Nature

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

• CAUL R&P Guide
• Springer Nature - Open access agreements for Australia and New Zealand

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