Australian science groups back NHMRC open-access proposal

National Health and Medical Research Council’s move wins support, but concerns are raised over costs

A proposal to mandate immediate open access for research funded by Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council has won cautious support from science groups.

Science and Technology Australia told the council’s consultation that it generally supported the policy—which would replace the existing NHMRC policy of allowing a 12-month delay in open-access publication—but that it needed some improvements. These included greater author control and more emphasis on non-university repositories for publication, such as the National Library of Australia’s Trove service.