We are pleased to share that the Council of Australasian University Librarians (CAUL) and Elsevier have reached an in-principle Read & Publish agreement for 2026, continuing our shared commitment to transparency, fair value, and expanding open access publishing opportunities.
CAUL and Elsevier resumed negotiations in December, following a pause in November when discussions had stalled.
This in-principle agreement represents a major step forward for our sector. More information will be shared in due course.
Accessing Elsevier Journals and Articles
For Flinders, the agreement only covers access to Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals packages. From early 2026, access to some journal titles within ScienceDirect will cease. Access to other Elsevier products are not impacted.
Flinders students and staff should continue to use findit@flinders to locate articles. If an article is unavailable:
- Install LibKey Nomad, a browser extension that helps you avoid paywalls.
- Request via Document Delivery
Teaching with Elsevier Journals and Articles
From early 2026, some links to ScienceDirect journals in Reading Lists may no longer work.
To minimise disruption, the Library will:
- Review Reading Lists with ScienceDirect content
- Update links where alternative access exists (perpetual holdings or open access)
- Contact impacted Topic Coordinators to find alternatives when needed
To ensure a smooth start to Semester 1, we recommend Topic Coordinators keep Reading Lists up to date as only resources included will be reviewed. For new topics, the Library is available to identify learning materials that won’t be affected.
Publishing in Elsevier Journals
Flinders’ authors can still publish in Elsevier journals after 2025, noting the following details:
- Authors will be responsible for any Article Processing Charges (APCs) to enable open access publishing. This reflects the process prior to the Read & Publish agreement being in place.
- The Library has no centralised funding available for paying APCs.
- To meet open access funding mandates, deposit your Author Accepted Manuscript in ResearchNow.
Read & Publish agreements for 2026
CAUL has secured agreements for 2026 with Taylor & Francis, Springer Nature, and Wiley, all featuring uncapped hybrid publishing and significantly increased allocations for gold open access publishing – an encouraging development given previous capped hybrid publishing and the exclusion of fully open access titles.
Contact Us
The Library is here to help. For specific queries, please contact the relevant teams:
- Researchers: ServiceOne – Ask a Library Research Query
- Teaching staff: ServiceOne- Online Content for Topics
Further Information