In this report Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley, makes the case for free access to academic journal articles for all Australians. This model would also provide free access for anyone anywhere in the world to journal articles with an Australian-based lead author.

At the moment, most journal articles are locked behind paywalls, and only easily available to people with subscriptions, such as university staff and students. A number of countries have adopted systems that seek to provide easier access or 'open access' to a broader section of the community.

This report examines existing models for open access and proposes a new 'public access' model, where centralised negotiations for national read and publish agreements: 
(i) allow read access for all of Australia to all the world’s journal articles – past and future; and 
(ii) include open access publishing for all new, Australian-led research to ensure it is freely accessible to the world.

Recommendations

1. The Australian Government should develop and implement a strategy to maximise access to academic journals for the Australian community.
2. The Government should undertake further analysis to develop the preferred model that will deliver the greatest benefit for Australia, from both an economic and social perspective.

Further developments and updates to the advice that was finalised in 2023 are outlined in the addendum.