So much research is already free to read in Australia – but it’s not getting the support it needs

Australian universities pay millions to commercial academic publishers each year. This is one of the main ways academics publish their research and have it recognised by their peers.

The money covers staff and students’ access to journals. It also ensures members of the public can read much of the research produced at those universities without a paywall.

Meanwhile, another model operates with far less recognition. It’s known as “diamond open access”, and it doesn’t involve any fees. One of several models in the scholarly publishing sector, it’s arguably the most equitable one.

Under diamond access, many Australian journals are already free for both readers and authors, yet they survive largely on unpaid academic labour. These journals also receive little formal support from the institutions whose names they often carry.

Our research on open access publishing shows there are several things Australia can do to better support this valuable resource. As university budgets tighten and national bodies push for fairer open access strategies, Australia has an opportunity to support its homegrown journals.

Green, gold, diamond

“Open access” publishing is exactly what it sounds like. When research is published under open access, anyone can read it online without paying a subscription fee.

But there are different types. Green open access is the do-it-yourself option, where an author uploads a version of their paper to a free university library repository. Many publishers allow for this as long as certain conditions are met – such as waiting out an embargo period.

Gold open access journals make articles free to read, but usually charge a fee to publish. These fees can cost thousands of dollars per article. Australian universities usually cover these costs through “read and publish” agreements with publishers. These agreements combine the cost of reading journals with the fees required to publish research openly.

Diamond open access journals charge neither readers nor authors. They have no subscription fees and no publishing fees.

These journals are typically run by universities, learned societies, or academic communities. They often rely on volunteer work by academics, institutional support, and small grants. Diamond journals essentially operate as a public good rather than a commercial product.

The state of diamond access in Australia

We spent several years studying Australian academic journals. We surveyed editors, interviewed them, and analysed how the research in their journals is used.

A significant share of the 650 Australian journals we identified – about a third – are already diamond open access. Many are in the humanities and social sciences, and cover topics that matter to Australian policy and public life, such as Indigenous topics and Australian legal studies.

We also found Australian journals are substantially more likely to be cited in Australian government policy documents than equivalent articles in international journals.

Importantly, these journals survive largely on volunteer labour. In our survey of 139 editors, 45% reported receiving no compensation for their work. Interviews with 27 editors revealed a picture of dedicated academics who fit journal work around everything else. They often do so in their own time, sometimes in retirement.

Meanwhile, several editors told us their institutions had removed workload recognition for editorial roles entirely. This means the university no longer counts this work a part of their official job duties. One editor was told the university didn’t “recognise that as a role at all”. When the people running these journals eventually step away, many can’t find successors.

Our findings show that read and publish arrangements are valuable, and have increased the level of open access to Australian research. However, they don’t address the lack of investment in and recognition of homegrown journals.

Beyond financial support, the way Australian universities measure research success disadvantages these journals. Researchers are often pressured to publish in high-ranked international journals over local ones.

What other countries are doing

Australia is not alone in lacking support for local journals. But we can learn from other countries that are treating scholarly publishing as essential public infrastructure.

Canada has a national funding model where government programs provide direct support to diamond journals. These programs require the journals to adopt recognised quality standards such as rigorous peer review and transparency in exchange for funding.

Norway recently expanded its national funding for Norwegian-language journals to cover all disciplines.

In the United States, a Gates Foundation-funded project is currently mapping the national landscape of diamond journals to identify what support they need.

These aren’t isolated cases. In the United Kingdom, the community-led Open Journal Collective brings together university presses to share technical and legal support. It allows them to move away from profit-driven publishing and keep research free for everyone.

From this initiative to longstanding, state-supported networks across Latin America and France, the premise is the same: diamond publishing is infrastructure, and infrastructure requires investment.

What needs to change in Australia

A few things would make a meaningful difference in Australia. First, universities should recognise the important work of editors within their workload models rather than relying on individual goodwill.

Second, funding bodies, including the Australian Research Council, could introduce direct support for diamond journals, just like some other countries have done.

Third, our research assessment policies must stop marginalising local journals by favouring international prestige over impact on local policy and life.

Finally, university libraries, as some have already suggested, could coordinate their efforts, perhaps through the Council of Australasian University Librarians, to provide more effective and efficient support for diamond journals.

None of this requires abandoning existing arrangements. It requires recognising what we already have and deciding whether it’s worth keeping and supporting. A journal that takes 20 years to build can close in a single year. Several already have.