MJA Implements Strategic Changes for 2026
The Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) is implementing strategic changes for 2026, aimed at enhancing its position and refining its processes. The journal's primary objective remains publishing high-quality research and commentary to inform Australian health policy and medical practice.
Submission Trends and Selection Challenges
Submissions to the MJA have shown a significant increase, rising from 1,413 in 2023 to 1,619 in 2025. Submissions from Australia rose from 1,020 to 1,087, while international submissions experienced notable growth from 393 to 532. International contributions now constitute approximately 33% of total submissions.
The journal faces the critical challenge of being selective to maintain quality, focusing on papers strictly within its scope.
Papers undergo an initial categorization into four general groups:
- Irrelevant Content: These papers lack relevance to Australian health care, often stemming from non-Australian populations or settings, covering unrelated health topics, or focusing on pre-clinical research. Some also exhibit characteristics consistent with "paper mills" and are not considered for publication.
- Low Priority Relevant Content: While relevant to Australian health care, these submissions do not meet high priority qualitative criteria. Such criteria include relevance to a high burden of disease, strong public health interest, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led research, or immediate impact on Australian clinical practice or policy.
- Content with Fundamental Issues: Papers in this category may meet qualitative criteria but contain significant design or writing flaws. Examples include lack of rigor, inappropriate design or analysis, ethical or governance concerns, poor reporting, or insufficient grounding in previous work.
- Publishable Content: These papers successfully meet established criteria, are well-reported, and present without obvious issues. Such submissions are then advanced for external peer review.
Operational Enhancements for 2026
Editorial Team Reorganization
Starting in 2026, the MJA's in-house manuscript decision-making team will be expanded. The team will include the Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editor, two Senior Editors, and five part-time Associate Editors, each working one day per week. This expansion aims to broaden the journal's reach into Australian research and healthcare communities and to build essential editorial capacity.
Revised Peer Review Process
The journal plans to adopt a more selective approach when sending papers for external peer review. This change is intended to optimize reviewers' valuable time and ensure that only papers closely aligned with publication criteria proceed to review. Decisions for papers rejected without peer review will also be expedited.
Post-Acceptance Process Streamlining
The team responsible for papers after review and acceptance has been reorganized to include a Managing Editor and a Publishing Project Editor. While minor edits for consistency will continue, extensive structural editing after acceptance will be significantly reduced. Greater collaboration with authors pre-acceptance will be emphasized to minimize post-acceptance revisions. This streamlining is expected to result in quicker online publication of accepted papers.
Publication Format and Cadence Adjustments
Adjustments to publication cadence and article appearance have already commenced. A new PDF format has been introduced, and articles are now published continuously rather than being tied to specific issue timings. Compiled issues will transition to a monthly appearance, starting with the first issue of 2026, replacing the previous schedule of 22 issues per year. Further enhancing user experience, the MJA websites are scheduled for a complete redesign in mid-2026 to improve display and functionality.