Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the first Australian organization to join cOAlition S and the country’s first funding agency to introduce the requirement that scholarly publications arising from the research it funds must be made freely available and accessible.
NHMRC has recently announced their revised Open Access Policy and their decision to join cOAlition S. Under NHMRC’s revised Open Access Policy, all peer-reviewed publications arising from NHMRC-funded research must be made available immediately upon publication, removing the 12-month embargo period. They must also be published under an open licence, which means publications can be used and shared widely. These new requirements apply to all grants awarded under NHMRC Grant Opportunity Guidelines issued from September 20, 2022 and will be phased in for all other NHMRC grants, with full implementation by January 1, 2024.
NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso AO said that making publicly-funded research available as soon as possible supports knowledge sharing and rapid innovation. It also advances human health in Australia and globally, as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Health and Medical Research Council invests approximately AUD900 million (€600 million) per year in new grants to Australian health and medical researchers. NHMRC occupies a unique position in Australia’s research system. Not only is it the largest public funder of Australian health and medical research, NHMRC also oversees the development of national guidelines on research ethics and integrity, the regulation of research using human embryos and the development of evidence-based health advice for health professionals and the community.
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