The NHMRC contemplates requiring new research it funds being immediate OA

The National Health and Medical Research Council invites comment on updating its open access policy to make publications and metadata based on research grants OA from next January.

If a journal won’t allow this the author’s accepted manuscript would have to be identified as being available in an institutional repository.

This appears intended to avoid publishers’ preferred “gold OA” method, where “pay to publish” replaces “pay to read.” For-profit publisher Springer has opened Nature to OA content, but will charge Euro 9500 per article (CMM November 26 and January 28).

NHMRC chair Anne Kelso points to the European OA Plan S and says the council wants to align, “with these principals and international developments.”

This is the second big OA move in weeks. Last month new chief scientist Cathy Foley said over half Australian research articles sre pay to read, which “hinders our capability to compete internationally.”  The Chief Scientist said she is “closely considering” an OA strategy.

As to the Australian Research Council, it is red-hot for open access, within 12 months of publication, except “in cases where this requirement cannot be met for any reason, including legal or contractual obligations.”