Update on publisher agreements for 2027

Update on publisher agreements for 2027

RMIT University Library is participating in a sector-wide negotiation of agreements with several publishers, led by the Council of Australasian University Librarians.

Earlier this year, the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL) commenced negotiations on behalf of the Australian and New Zealand university sector for new agreements, commencing in 2027, with five commercial publishers:

  1. Emerald
  2. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
  3. American Chemical Society (ACS)
  4. Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
  5. Springer Nature: Nature Research and Nature Reviews.

These collective negotiations follow the recent announcement of more than $500 million saved through CAUL Consortium Open Access agreements, as well as the successful negotiations with four other major academic publishers in 2025. Through that process, CAUL was able to achieve landmark agreements that reduced the cost of publication to universities, opened up critical research to our communities and alleviated publishing caps on researchers.

Similar to last year, CAUL is negotiating in good faith for:

  • pricing models that deliver better value for universities
  • simplified and increased open access publishing opportunities for individual researchers and universities through uncapped publishing entitlements and fully inclusive title lists
  • free “read” access to all research output.

Why we are negotiating agreements

At RMIT, we're focused on amplifying the translation and impact of our research for positive societal impact. When our researchers can publish the best of their research to the best journals without prohibitive cost barriers, society benefits.

Read & Publish (R&P) agreements were intended as interim steps toward full open access. There is still a way to go to ensure that universities are getting a fair deal from commercial publishers. These negotiations aim to address legacy pricing concerns, as well as the unpredictability of capped agreements and limitations such as excluded titles.

Timing and impacts

These negotiations impact agreements due to commence in 2027.

Latest updates by publisher

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RMIT currently has a R&P agreement with Emerald. In 2025, RMIT published 63 articles with an APC avoidance value of $357,837 (AUD).

RMIT currently has a 2026 R&P agreement with Emerald, which includes a possible one-year extension with current terms.

CAUL negotiation is in progress; there are no current updates.

RMIT does not hold a R&P agreement with this publisher. There are no current updates.

 

RMIT does not hold a R&P agreement with this publisher. Negotiation currently occurring; there are no current updates.

RMIT does not hold a R&P agreement with this publisher. Negotiation currently occurring; there are no current updates.

While there is a Springer Nature R&P agreement in place, it does not currently include any Nature Research or Nature Reviews journals published by Springer.

Negotiation currently occurring; there are no current updates.

Further information and support

If you have any questions or concerns during this negotiation process, please reach out to the Library Collections team at collection.suport@rmit.edu.au. We will keep this news post up to date as new information becomes available.

31 August 2026

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