Skip to Main Content

Open Access

Provides an overview of Open Access and Publish & Read Agreements

What are Publish and Read Agreements?

Publish and Read Agreements (also known as Transformative Agreements) bundle read access with open access publishing rights, enabling our researchers to publish immediate open access without direct payment of article processing charges (APCs).

Macquarie University subscribes to a number of these agreements, through sector-wide contracts negotiated by the Council of Australasian Librarians (CAUL).

Key Benefits of Publish and Read Agreements

  • No APCs for Authors: Eligible authors can publish Open Access at no personal cost.
  • Copyright Retention: Authors typically retain copyright and publish under a Creative Commons license, with CC BY being the most common.
  • Seamless Publishing Experience: Authors can continue submitting to their preferred journals. If eligible, they’ll be notified upon acceptance that their article can be published Open Access without any transactional APCs.
  • Cost Reallocation: Helps start moves spending from paywalled access to Open Access publishing.

 Key Issues with Publish and Read Agreements

  • They build on the inflated legacy pricing of academic publishing, they have not addressed underlying issues of value, transparency and financial sustainability
  • They are complex, with a range of limitations including annual caps and excluded titles, which can make them confusing for researchers to use.
  • They are increasing in price, placing upward pressure on library budgets.

Publish and Read Agreements at Macquarie

Where Waranara Library is participating in a PAR, Macquarie University authors can publish accepted articles in eligible journals without direct payment of APCs. For most publishers not all journals are covered and limitations and caps can apply. To avoid paying APCs read the information on Conditions and Limitations and complete our Checklist. For more guidance on choosing where and how to publish, please see our Strategic Publishing page.

Visit the Current MQ Publish & Read Agreements page for a full list.

  • Not all journals are included: Not all journals from the publishers are eligible under these agreements.  In most agreements only Hybrid journals are included, Fully Open Access journals are usually NOT included. Check title lists carefully. It is advisable to double-check information on the journal's website.

  • Affiliation = Eligibility: You must be the corresponding author and use your MQ email address and Macquarie University affiliation.

  • Some charges may still apply: Some publishers may still invoice you for page charges or colour charges, even if the article publishing charge is waived as part of the agreement. Check the journal website carefully for information about additional costs to publish.

  • Publisher Caps: Some publishers have set a limit or "cap" on the number of articles that can be published to open access with no APCs. The caps apply to all participating universities in Australia as a group. Please check the cap before submission to avoid disappointment.

  • Acceptance date must be within terms of agreement: To be eligible, your article must have an acceptance date within the term of the agreement. However, please note that for some journals eligibility is based on submission date.

  • Copyright: Articles will be made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY License (or a variant thereof).

  • The Library recommends you publish articles under CC-BY license.

  • Please note if you choose the CC-BY-NC-ND license, under the terms and conditions for some publishers, you are giving the publisher permission to assign the CC-BY-NC-ND license thus giving the Publisher exclusive right to commercial use of the article. Any future commercial use, even by the author, will require the permission of the Publisher.
Complete this checklist to ensure you meet the conditions of the agreement.

 

Journal Eligibility

 Confirm the journal is included in the agreement.

 Check if the journal is Hybrid (usually eligible) or Fully Open Access (usually not eligible).

 Review the Title List provided by the publisher or the Library.

 Ensure your article type is eligible.

 Confirm eligibility directly on the journal’s official website.

Author Affiliation

 You must be the corresponding author.

 Use your Macquarie University email address.

 Clearly state your Macquarie University affiliation in the submission.

Charges & Costs

 Check for additional charges (e.g., page charges, colour charges).

 Review the journal’s website for any extra publishing costs.

Publisher Caps

 Verify if the publisher has a cap (limited number) on the number of APC-free articles.

 Understand that caps apply across all Australian universities.

Acceptance Date

 Ensure your article’s acceptance date falls within the agreement’s term.

 For some journals, eligibility may depend on the submission date—check carefully.

Copyright & Licensing

 Articles will be published under a Creative Commons license (usually CC-BY).

 Prefer the CC-BY license for maximum reuse and sharing.

 Be cautious with CC-BY-NC-ND: it may give the publisher exclusive commercial rights, even restricting your own future use.