Article Processing Charges

RRH has a commitment to universal access:

Article Processing Charges (APCs) exist to support immediate, free and permanent access to scholarly research for readers worldwide. Charging models must align with the journal’s mission to further rural and remote health education, research and practice through the provision of an international knowledge base of peer-reviewed material from rural health practitioners (medical, nursing and allied health professionals and health workers), educators, researchers and policy makers globally.

RRH will provide transparency and clarity:

APCs must be clearly disclosed with plain language explanations of what the charges support.

APCs for the RRH journal will cover peer-review management, editorial services, production, hosting and archiving.

APCs will be clearly displayed on the RRH journal website.

Information regarding APCs will be added to the receipt-of-submission email sent to all authors.

All manuscripts (except for Letters to the Editor and Editorials) submitted from 1 July 2026 will be subject to the updated APC policy.
Submitted manuscripts that have not been sent for peer review prior to 1 July 2026 will also be subject to APCs.

RRH Journal will ensure editorial independence and integrity:

The ability to pay must not influence editorial or peer-review outcomes. Editorial decisions should be made solely on scientific quality, relevance and integrity.

Equity, inclusion and global participation will be considered by RRH Journal:

Fee structures must promote equitable participation in open science, recognising global disparities in research funding. The RRH Journal will continue to promote research collaboration.

The RRH Journal will ensure fair and proportionate pricing:

Fees should be proportionate to the actual costs of publishing and maintaining high quality open access services. Charges should reflect efficiency, scale and responsible stewardship rather than market dominance or prestige.

The RRH Journal shall remain a non-profit entity.

Should income generated from the APCs exceed costs, the annual contribution amounts will be solely reinvested into the journal.

The RRH Journal will ensure clear, dignified waiver policies:

The journal will maintain a simple, confidential and non stigmatising automatic waiver process, ensuring that requests for fee relief do not compromise authors’ dignity or delay editorial decisions. This waiver or fee reduction process will apply when the first or corresponding author belongs to a group listed in Appendix 1.

The RRH Journal will continue to support open-science practices.

The RRH Journal will provide predictability for Authors and Funders:

APCs should be stable, predictable and communicated well in advance, enabling authors, institutions and funders to plan and budget responsibly.

The RRH Journal shall continue to provide accountability to the scholarly community.

The RRH Journal will ensure ongoing review and community engagement:

Fee structures will be periodically reviewed in consultation with authors, editors, reviewers, institutions and funders, with adjustments made to reflect efficiency gains, evolving technologies and community expectations.

The Journal Management Advisory Committee will review the fee structure in the last meeting of each financial year.

The fees will be set to ensure long-term sustainability and financial viability of the journal.

Cost structure using country of first and/or corresponding authors, based on the World Bank classification of countries by income and region: https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/the-world-by-income-and-region.html.

First or corresponding author from high-income country (and not employed by institutional partners): $4000 (AUD)

First or corresponding author from upper- and lower-middle-income country: $2000 (AUD)

First or corresponding author from low-income country: free to publish

If the first and/or corresponding authors are in different World Bank classification bands, the lower one applies.

Student researchers (first or corresponding author, with evidence of current enrolment provided on submission)

First or corresponding authors affiliated with institutional partners that have paid the most recent annual financial contribution.