ARCC Journals support the broad and responsible dissemination of scholarly research. Articles published by ARCC are made freely and permanently available online immediately upon publication, without subscription or pay-per-view barriers. 

This Gold Open Access model enables researchers, educators, practitioners, policymakers, students and the public to access and use scholarly content in accordance with the applicable open licence.

The final published versions of articles made available through ARCC Journals are openly accessible on the ARCC website. This includes research articles, review articles, short communications and other scholarly content accepted and published by the relevant journal. Corrections, expressions of concern, retractions and other formal post-publication notices are also made openly accessible and linked to the affected article in order to preserve the transparency of the scholarly record.

Articles published by ARCC Journals are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). 

Official licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International 

Under CC BY 4.0, users may: 

• Copy and redistribute the article in any medium or format. 

• Share the article through repositories, websites, scholarly networks and other platforms. 

• Adapt, translate, remix or build upon the content. 

• Use the content for commercial or non-commercial purposes. 

Users must: 

• Give appropriate credit to the original author or authors and source. 

• Provide a link to the CC BY 4.0 licence. 

• Indicate whether changes were made. 

• Avoid implying endorsement by the authors, journal or ARCC. 

• Avoid imposing legal or technological restrictions that prevent others from exercising the rights granted by the licence. 

Authors retain copyright in their published work. Following editorial acceptance, authors grant ARCC Journals a non-exclusive licence to publish, distribute, host, index, archive, preserve and promote the article as the Version of Record under CC BY 4.0. 

The publication agreement, copyright statement, article HTML and article PDF must identify the copyright holder and reflect the same licence terms. 

Where copyright is legally held by an employer or another authorised rights holder, the publication agreement and article copyright notice should identify that rights holder accurately. 

Authors and readers may share the published Version of Record through institutional or subject repositories, personal or institutional websites, scholarly collaboration networks, teaching platforms and other channels, provided that the CC BY 4.0 conditions are followed. 

The shared version should include the full citation, DOI or permanent article link, copyright notice and CC BY 4.0 licence link. Where changes, extracts or adaptations are made, they must be identified clearly. 

No separate permission from ARCC is required for a use that is fully permitted by CC BY 4.0. 

CC BY 4.0 applies only to material for which the relevant rights holder has authorised publication under that licence. Figures, photographs, maps, tables, datasets or other third-party material may be excluded from the article's licence where a separate credit line or rights notice states different terms. 

Users are responsible for obtaining permission from the appropriate rights holder where an intended use is not covered by CC BY 4.0, an applicable legal exception or the material's separate licence. 

Privacy, publicity, moral, confidentiality, database, trademark and other rights may also affect reuse even where copyright permission is available

ARCC maintains journal and article archives on its publishing platform and maintains operational backup copies to support continued access and recovery. 

ARCC is reviewing and expanding independent long-term digital preservation coverage for its current and complete journal portfolio. The name of each verified preservation service, the journals covered and the applicable date or volume range will be published on this page and on the relevant journal pages once confirmed. 

Historical preservation coverage may vary by journal and publication year. ARCC will not describe content as preserved by a third-party service unless the arrangement and coverage have been verified.

ARCC strives to improve the accessibility of its website, article HTML, PDF files and supporting digital content so that research can be used by the widest possible audience. 

Readers who encounter an accessibility barrier, inaccessible file, missing alternative text or another difficulty may contact the ARCC support team and identify the affected page, article or file. ARCC will review reasonable requests and prioritise remediation where technically feasible. 

Open Access publication, Article Processing Charge payment, waiver or discount status, institutional support, sponsorship and funding do not influence manuscript screening, peer review, editorial acceptance, rejection or publication priority. 

Editorial decisions are based on scientific quality, originality, methodological rigour, relevance to the journal's scope, reporting quality and compliance with research and publication ethics. 

The independent editorial acceptance decision must be recorded before an APC is requested.

Open Access publishing involves costs associated with editorial administration, peer review management, production, typesetting, metadata preparation, DOI registration, online hosting, preservation, indexing and dissemination. 

Where an Article Processing Charge applies, it may be paid by the author, institution, library, research organisation or funder. APC amounts, payment timing, waiver and discount criteria, refund conditions and payment methods are governed by the ARCC Article Processing Charges Policy and the relevant journal page. 

Submission does not create a payment obligation. An APC becomes payable only after editorial acceptance, in accordance with the APC Policy. 

Each published article should display, in both HTML and PDF where applicable: 

• The copyright holder. 

• The CC BY 4.0 licence name and official licence link. 

• The DOI and formal citation. 

• The article's publication and version information. 

• Any separately licensed or excluded third-party material. 

• Any correction, expression of concern, retraction or other formal notice affecting the article

Open Access can support: 

• Immediate access to published research without subscription barriers. 

• Broader dissemination across countries, institutions and professional communities. 

• Greater discoverability through search, linking, repositories and scholarly networks. 

• Responsible reuse in research, teaching, policy, practice and innovation. 

• Collaboration, verification and further research. 

Open Access may improve opportunities for visibility and reuse, but ARCC does not guarantee indexing, citation, ranking, media coverage or a particular level of impact.

• Copyright and Licensing Policy. 

• Article Processing Charges Policy. 

• Author Guidelines. 

• Publication Ethics Policy. 

• Peer Review Process. 

• Role of Authors. 

• Role of Editors. 

• For Readers. 

For questions regarding Open Access, licensing, copyright, repository sharing, permissions, accessibility, APCs or digital preservation, authors and readers should contact the ARCC Editorial Office or support team through the official contact channels available on the ARCC Journals website.

ARCC periodically reviews and updates this policy to reflect changes in publishing practice, copyright and licensing, digital preservation, accessibility, technology, law and internationally recognised Open Access standards. 

The current version published on the ARCC Journals website represents the applicable policy for new publications. Material changes will be reflected across the relevant author agreement, journal pages and article templates. 

Last reviewed: June 2026