Information for vendors

What the CAUL Consortium does

The CAUL Consortium negotiates national agreements for digital content on behalf of university libraries across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The Consortium coordinates content procurement for libraries connected to over 50 member institutions, securing favourable pricing, licensing terms, and access conditions. We are increasingly negotiating agreements to support open access publishing. This page outlines general principles, dates and guidelines for consortium agreements and renewal offers.

Please contact the Content Procurement Service team for any questions relating to a consortium agreement.

Key reference materials

These web pages and resources outline CAUL’s procurement model, data expectations, and preferred licensing terms.

Annual offer process for existing vendors

Each year, vendors are invited to submit offers for the next subscription period. Offers must be submitted via the vendor response form for the relevant subscription year by the deadline advised by CAUL.

Our goal is to ensure that content remains accessible, affordable, and aligned with sector priorities, including open access publishing and equitable pricing.

Please note: The vendor response form will be sent directly to publisher primary contacts via ConsortiaManager. CAUL is not currently considering any new agreements for the 2027 subscription year. Only current CAUL agreement holders will be invited to submit offers.

Key dates for the 2027 renewal cycle

15 May 2026Vendors invited to begin submitting renewal subscription offers to the CAUL Consortium – the Excel pricing spreadsheet template generated from ConsortiaManager will be auto-emailed to vendors separately
June-September 2026Offers, including content scope, pricing and licencing terms, refined through negotiation by CAUL and progressively uploaded to ConsortiaManager for members to begin reviewing
30 June 2026Final day for vendors to submit proposed licence changes to CAUL
3 July 2026Last day for vendors to submit offers for the 2027 subscription year
September 2026CAUL uploads last batch of offers to ConsortiaManager for members to review
11 September 2026Last day for Offers including sample Licence Agreement, to be uploaded to ConsortiaManager for members to review
August to October 2026Members complete their review and consideration of Offers
 Category A (CAUL invoiced)Category B (vendor invoiced)
9 October 2026Last day for members to confirm renewal or new uptake of Offers 
October 2026Orders to vendors placed by CAUL directly from ConsortiaManager 
October 2026Vendors begin issuing invoices to CAUL 
23 October 2026Last day for vendors to issue 90-day group invoices to CAUL 
30 October 2026Last day for CAUL to issue 30-day invoices to members 
9 November 2026 Last day for members to confirm renewal or new uptake of Offers
Early-November 2026 Orders to vendors placed by CAUL directly from ConsortiaManager
November 2026Vendors begin issuing licence agreements to members
4 December 2026Last day for members to pay CAUL invoices 

Open access agreements

If your agreement includes open access publishing, review the open access agreement reporting requirements and ensure you can comply. These reports help CAUL measure uptake, equity, and impact across institutions.

CAUL may request a range of publishing data during the renewal period to support evaluating your offer.

Resource sharing

CAUL strongly encourages vendors to adopt the resource sharing model clause. This supports interlibrary loan and sector collaboration while complying with copyright and licensing obligations.

Submitting your offer

All offers must be submitted via the vendor response form. Please ensure all required materials are complete and submitted by the deadline.

Support and contacts

Contact the Content Procurement Service team for support with questions relating to a consortium offer, or with ConsortiaManager access.

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