Ethical, robust, and sustainable open access publishing.
The Open Access Publishing Association supports diamond open access journals that are free to both authors and readers. This policy sets out the principles that guide OAPA’s publishing model, journal partnerships, editorial transparency, and author rights.
OAPA supports publishing models that protect access, quality, and editorial independence.
OAPA’s publishing activity is grounded in a commitment to diamond open access, rigorous peer review, transparent editorial governance, ethical publishing practice, and author rights.
Journal editors and journal owners retain responsibility for their own editorial policies, while operating consistently with their publishing agreements, recognised publication ethics guidance, and this OAPA Publishing Policy.
Diamond Open Access Commitment
- OAPA supports diamond open access journals that are freely accessible to readers.
- OAPA-supported publications do not charge authors article processing charges to publish their work.
- The Association’s publishing model is designed to support sustainable open access while reducing financial barriers for authors, readers, reviewers, editors, and scholarly communities.
Rigorous Peer Review
- Manuscripts should undergo a transparent, double-blind peer review process to support scholarly integrity, quality, and trust.
- Where a journal or publication uses a different review model, the review and acceptance process must be clearly and transparently articulated.
- Journals are expected to maintain review processes that are appropriate to their discipline, publication type, editorial strategy, and scholarly community.
Editorial Transparency
- Journal editors and owners set their own editorial policies and are responsible for publishing those policies transparently.
- Editorial policies should be consistent with Committee on Publication Ethics guidance, the journal’s own strategy, the relevant Publishing Agreement, and this OAPA Publishing Policy.
- Journals should clearly communicate their aims, scope, review model, author requirements, editorial responsibilities, and publication standards.
Ethical Publishing
- Journal editors must ensure that published content adheres to ethical publishing guidelines, including guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics.
- Journals are expected to uphold research integrity, publication ethics, responsible editorial decision-making, and appropriate correction or retraction processes where required.
- OAPA has a preference for research involving human participants to have appropriate Institutional Review Board, Human Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent ethics approval where relevant.
Author Rights
- Authors retain copyright of their work.
- Published work is made available under open licences, such as Creative Commons licences, consistent with the journal’s published policies.
- Authors should be able to share, use, and disseminate their work in ways that align with open access principles and the licence applied to the published version.
Version History
Version 1.0 — Approved by OAPA President, 9 November 2024. This policy was approved by the OAPA Board.
Version 1.1 — Ratified by OAPA Board, 30 October 2025. No changes made.