[GOAL] Statement: Australian Open Access Support Group applauds new ARC open access policy

[Danny Kingsley]

STATEMENT
Australian Open Access Support Group applauds new ARC open access policy

The Australian Open Access Support Group (AOASG) applauds the Australian Research Council (ARC) in their implementation of a new open access policy.

The ARC posted their open access policy on their website on Monday 7 January. The ARC Open Access Policy http://www.arc.gov.au/applicants/open_access.htm states:

the ARC requires that any publications arising from an ARC supported research project must be deposited into an open access institutional repository within a twelve (12) month period from the date of publication.

The AOASG particularly commends the ARC for requiring publications to be made available through institutional repositories. This method of making work open access uses the substantial institutional repository network in place across Australian institutions. It also avoids the potentially costly result of a mandate that requires publication in open access journals through the payment of article processing charges.

This policy differs from the “NHMRC revised policy on the dissemination of research findings” http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants/policy/dissemination-research-findings (introduced on 1 July 2012) in two important ways.


1.     Unlike the NHMRC policy which only relates to journal articles resulting from funded research, the ARC policy will apply to all publication outputs resulting from funded research. This will include books and book chapters which currently have less developed mechanisms for open access copyright clearance than journal articles.



2.     The NHMRC policy took effect from 1 July 2012, and all journal articles from any funded research (regardless of the grant under which it was funded) published after that date are required to be submitted within 12 months of publication to an institutional repository. The ARC policy is not retrospective, and relates specifically to publications resulting from the Funding Rules and Agreements released after 1 January 2013. This means there will be a period of some time between the funding allocation and publication of the work. This longer implementation period presents an opportunity to address some of the issues facing researchers who publish in outlets other than journal articles.

The AOASG is a consortium of six Australian universities[1] which supports Australian institutions and researchers by providing information about, and support for, the development and implementation of open access policies. The particular issues facing the humanities and social sciences in the open access debate will be an early focus for the Group.

Still in early implementation phase, the AOASG will have a web presence available shortly.


Dated: 14 January 2013

Further information:
Dr Danny Kingsley, Executive Officer AOASG
e: danny.kingsley at anu.edu.au<mailto:danny.kingsley at anu.edu.au> p: 02 6125 6839

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[1] Australian National University, Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, Newcastle University, Queensland University of Technology and Victoria University
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