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About

The Open Educational Resources Collective is an initiative of the Council of Australasian University Librarians

After a successful two-year pilot period from 2022-2023, the decision was made to continue the CAUL OER Collective in 2024 – 2026 as a service in line with the CAUL Open Educational Resources Strategic Enabling Program. The Collective aims to:

  1. Build infrastructure and capacity, and achieve tangible outcomes to move the OER agenda forward at a national level.
  2. Facilitate collaborative authoring and publishing of open textbooks in targeted priority disciplines, with a preference for the inclusion of local and/or indigenous content.
  3. Allow Member institutions to publish their own textbooks in disciplines of their choosing.

The Collective provides a shared open textbook publishing platform for participating CAUL Member institutions in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, with the aim of facilitating independent publishing by authors at participating institutions, as well as collaborative, cross-institutional publishing. The Collective will also build community and capacity across CAUL Member institutions to support open textbook publishing.

CAUL Member institutions are at various stages of development in terms of their exploration of open textbooks. The aims of the Collective allow Member institutions with different goals and different needs to benefit from the Collective. The Collective draws on the strength of networks within the CAUL membership to encourage cross-institutional collaboration on open textbooks and facilitate knowledge sharing.

Inclusions

Participating institutions have

  • space to publish up to two open textbooks on the shared Pressbooks platform per year (depending on membership type)
  • access to training, guides and templates via the OER Collective Workflow guide
  • access to two communities of practice – one for library staff, and one for academic authors
  • the opportunity for academic authors at their institution to apply for Open Textbook Grants.

Participating Institutions

The following institutions are participating in 2025:

  1. Auckland University of Technology – Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau
  2. Bond University
  3. Charles Darwin University
  4. Charles Sturt University
  5. CQUniversity
  6. Curtin University
  7. Deakin University
  8. Edith Cowan University
  9. Federation University
  10. Flinders University
  11. Griffith University
  12. James Cook University
  13. La Trobe University
  14. Lincoln University – Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki
  15. Massey University – Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa
  16. Monash University
  17. Queensland University of Technology
  18. RMIT University
  19. Southern Cross University
  20. Swinburne University of Technology
  21. University of Adelaide
  22. University of Auckland
  23. University of Canberra
  24. University of Canterbury – Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
  25. University of New England
  26. University of Newcastle
  27. University of Otago – Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo
  28. University of Queensland Library
  29. University of South Australia
  30. University of Southern Queensland
  31. University of Sunshine Coast
  32. University of Sydney Library
  33. University of Tasmania
  34. University of Technology Sydney
  35. University of Waikato – Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
  36. University of Western Australia
  37. University of Wollongong (New in 2025)
  38. University of New South Wales
  39. Victoria University of Wellington – Te Herenga Waka
  40. Western Sydney University

More Information

  • The OER Collective Administration Guide for Library Staff provides important information on Collective operations and governance, including procedures, contact information and frequently asked questions (undergoing updating for 2025).
  • The OER Collective Workflow guide provides documentation, guides and templates to support publishing. It’s a key resource for library staff and academic authors designed to guide you through the publishing process.