Open Access Australasia welcomes the NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy released February 2026, which robustly aligns with our principles of immediate open access, FAIR and CARE data sharing, and transparent research practices.
We strongly support the mandatory requirement for at least one version of funded research papers—preprints, accepted manuscripts, or versions of record—to be openly accessible without embargo under a CC BY licence, alongside data availability statements, metadata deposition, PID usage, and FAIR4RS for research software, which will accelerate Australia’s transition to a fully open scholarly ecosystem.
We particularly endorse the policy’s explicit commitment to Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Governance (Section 4), mandating alignment with Maiam Nayri Wingara principles, CARE practices, and Indigenous-led governance arrangements for data involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ensuring community stewardship from project outset.
The policy’s call to publish negative results, share code and software openly, and embrace equitable practices effectively supports reproducible research. OAA member institutions support these functions and researchers will be able to contact their library for guidance about meeting their open science obligations.
