CSIRO Publishing
About our business
CSIRO Publishing is Australia's leading science publisher of books, journals, and magazines. Through our publications we demonstrate the value of science and capture and share knowledge for future generations.
As part of the research community our purpose is to enhance the impact of science by communicating the outcomes of research, empowering decision makers, and enriching the lives of our all our readers.
The CSIRO scholarly journals program commenced in 1948 and CSIRO Publishing was established as a stand-alone imprint and publishing house in 1995. Today we operate as a not-for-profit, editorially independent* business unit within the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
- Books: Our books program fosters a lifelong passion for science and supports professional decision making. Our children’s program ignites curiosity and fosters imagination, our adult non-fiction list highlights the wonders of our natural world, and our professional and academic books capture outcomes of science for a better future.
- Journals: Our journals are all peer-reviewed, and members of the Committee of Publication Ethics. CSIRO Publishing is committed to advancing open science and serving the needs of researchers. Our journals are published in partnership with The Australian Academy of Science and a range of society partners, and we produce over 2,000 articles each year. We pride ourselves on providing a supportive and accessible service for our authors throughout the publishing process.
- Double Helix magazine: Double Helix magazine has a long-standing reputation for delivering expertly written, fascinating and fun science material for young people for over 35 years. We aim to make it an easy, fun read for people, whether they are already interested in science or not.
- Workshops: We offer workshops designed to help build the skills needed to write journal papers, grant applications and technical reports that achieve desired outcomes. We tailor our workshops to suit the needs of your organisation as well as the needs and experience of the individual participants in the group.
As part of CSIRO we reflect the values identified by the broader organisation and demonstrate those behaviours, including collaboration and inclusivity that are so important for a vibrant publishing program.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the areas that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and land, their valuable contribution to our shared knowledge, and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
CSIRO Publishing is a proud member of several professional societies, including the International Association of STM Publishers (external link) and Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (external link). We are also a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (external link), demonstrating that we are committed to best practice ethical standards including scholarly peer-review.
*Our authors come from a wide range of institutions and professions worldwide. This diversity adds to the contest of ideas and reflects the nature of science collaboration. The views expressed in the content of our publications are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of, and should not be attributed to, CSIRO or CSIRO Publishing.
CSIRO Publishing will:
- Carry a national-interest publishing obligation underwritten by agreements between the Australian Academy of Science and CSIRO
- Operate within CSIRO on a commercial basis with its viability dependent on the capacity to generate revenue and sufficient return on investment
- Create impact from science through deployment of its independent editorial policies and its publishing products and services, such that scientific knowledge is amplified to a broad readership
- Be known for best practice governance procedures, transparent reporting and delivery on its objectives by:
- Establishing and maintaining publication policies that enhance the reputation of Australian scholarship
- Managing product development processes to protect the brand reputation of Australian science and CSIRO
- Setting strategic objectives and operational plans and delivering to the objectives established in these business plans
- Providing regular reports on progress to all its stakeholders
- Meet stakeholder expectations by deploying specialist publishing advice, systems and digital infrastructure
- Maintain a balanced, independent editorial policy and endeavour to deliver trusted authoritative content for all products on core values that include:
- Creative encouragement and support for authors to fully develop their ideas
- Scrupulous peer review and high ethical standards
- Accuracy and attention to detail
- Quality in design and production standards
- Be fully committed to:
- Treating authors, customers and each other honestly and fairly
- Respecting diversity of ideas and perspectives
- Avoiding bias and other prejudicial content in all that we do
- Encouraging and rewarding creativity, entrepreneurial ideas, hard work and dedication
- Operating in a manner that is conducive to a sustainable future.
Signed by Doug Hilton, CSIRO Chief Executive, 6 December 2023