Manuscripts submitted to the MJA must conform with the Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals.

Manuscripts must be offered exclusively to the Journal. This means that manuscripts should not be simultaneously submitted to other journals nor made available to others, including news reporters, while they are being considered for publication. This embargo continues up to the publication date for those manuscripts which are accepted.

The MJA uses the “Editorial Manager” system of online manuscript submission. Online submission is fast and allows authors to track the progress of their submissions through peer review and the editorial decision-making process.

First time users: Please select “Register” from the menu at the top of the Editorial Manager web page and enter the requested information. Upon successful registration, you will be sent an email containing your username and password. You need these to log in.

Registered users: Select “Login” from the menu at the top of the Editorial Manager web page and provide your username and password. Log in as “Author”. Then submit your manuscript and track its progress through the system.

For further information on the Editorial Manager system please download the Tutorial for Authors available at http://www.editorialmanager.com/mja/.

Note: Do not include author-identifying information in your manuscript. The manuscript you submit online will (if appropriate) be forwarded to peer reviewers. The MJA uses “blind” peer review, in which reviewers are not told the identity of the authors. To preserve blinding, your manuscript should not contain author-identifying information, such as a list of authors on the title page or a contact address. This information should be submitted online on the forms provided for this purpose.

Manuscripts should be Word documents (or a compatible word-processing format). Do not use headers and footers, automatic referencing or footnotes and keep the layout of the file as simple as possible. Number the pages, starting with the title page. Include word counts of the main text and the abstract.

Your covering letter should be submitted online with your manuscript. It can contain author-identifying information as it will not be shown to peer reviewers. It should include:

• why the article should be published in the MJA
• confirmation that the manuscript content (in part or in full) has not been submitted or published elsewhere.

Alternative methods of submission: Authors who cannot access the Editorial Manager submission system can submit articles by email or by post (with a disk).
Email:

medjaust@ampco.com.au.

Submit a book review by emailing it to the MJA Librarian, mjalibrary@ampco.com.au

Post:
The Editor
The Medical Journal of Australia
Locked Bag 3030, Strawberry Hills NSW 2012, Australia.

Tel: +61 2 9562 6666.
Fax: +61 2 9562 6699.

For a posted submission, send one printed copy of the manuscript and a CD or disk with a copy in Word format.

Declarations: In separate documents to be submitted online with the manuscript, we require

• Statement of competing interests. Each author should declare the source of any financial or other support, and any financial or professional relationships which may pose a competing interest. They should describe the role, if any, of the supporting source(s) in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, and in writing of the article. They should also state whether the supporting source(s) controlled or influenced the decision to submit the final manuscript for publication. If the supporting source(s) had no such involvement, this should be stated.
  
  Click here for a copy of our competing interests disclosure form in Word document format.
  
  
• Acknowledgements. Acknowledgements must be brief. Acknowledge funding sources and people who have contributed to the study but do not qualify as authors (see Authorship below). Do not include secretarial staff. It is the responsibility of the principal author to obtain permission to acknowledge individuals.

Copyright: All authors are asked to transfer copyright to AMPCo before publication. Accepted manuscripts may not be published elsewhere, in whole or in part, without written permission from the Australasian Medical Publishing Company (AMPCo) Ltd.

Authorship: Authorship should be based on substantial contribution to (a) concept and design of the article, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (b) drafting of the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (c) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions (a), (b) and (c) must all be met, and each author must be prepared to take public responsibility for the article. Authors may be asked to sign a declaration to this effect. Order of authors should be the joint decision of all authors.

Any change in authors and/or contributors (eg, additions, deletions or change of order) after initial manuscript submission must be approved by all authors. An explanation for the change must be submitted to the Journal, signed by all authors, including the added/moved/removed author(s).

Style: Use abbreviations sparingly (spell out at first use). Give all measurements in SI units (except blood pressure, which is in mmHg). Supply reference ranges where appropriate. Drugs should be referred to by their generic, not their proprietary, names.

References: Accuracy of references is the responsibility of authors. Compile a reference list at the end of the text - do NOT submit references in endnote or footnote format. Use the "Vancouver style" and abbreviate journal names as in Index Medicus. Give surnames and initials of all authors (or only the first three authors [et al] if there are more than four) and cite first and last page numbers in full (these two requirements are slightly different from the Vancouver style). Specify the type of reference (eg, a letter, an editorial, an abstract, a supplement). Cite personal communications and unpublished papers in the text, not in the reference list and obtain written permission from people cited, giving their titles, positions and affiliations. For all non-journal references, including conference publications, newspaper articles and electronic media, please consult the National Library of Medicine's "Citing Medicine" at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=citmed.TOC&depth=2 for the required detail and format.

Tables: Present all tables in double-spaced type on separate pages; simplify the information as much as possible, keeping the number of columns to a minimum and the headings short. Information in tables should not be duplicated in the text.

Figures and illustrations: Should be submitted in electronic format, provided that high quality electronic images are available:

• Images must be high resolution. Generally speaking, an acceptable image must be at least 3.5 inches (8.75cm) across when printed at 300 dots per inch (dpi): for a square image of 3.5×3.5 inches, this means the image will contain >1,000,000 pixels. Computer screens display images at 72–96 dpi, creating a false impression of printable size. The printable size is only one-third to one-quarter of the apparent size on screen. If the image is small to begin with, it cannot be turned into a high resolution image: it is not effective to "blow up" an image using image editing software to increase the size.
• Do not use JPEG compression to reduce image size. JPEG images must be saved at their maximum size, as JPEG compression reduces image quality. ZIP compression is acceptable.
• Preferred image file formats are EPS, TIFF, Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop.
• If providing graphs in Microsoft Excel format, it is important to provide the data table from which the graph was generated.
• A copy of images can be embedded in your Word document at the relevant position, but the original image file must always be submitted separately as well.
• Provide a letter of permission from the copyright holder for the use of images from other publications.

If unable to provide electronic images, or if uncertain about the quality of the images you can provide, please provide printed copies by post. If providing prints:

• Supply two copies of each image, labelled on the back with the figure number, principal author's name, and orientation (arrow to top).
• Graphs can be supplied as laser-printed illustrations on good quality paper, with a copy of the numerical data that each graph is based on (numerical data should be supplied on disk or by email).
• Protect photographs from damage. Do not write directly on them — put labels on an overlay or photocopy.
• Photomicrographs require internal scale markers. State the original magnification and stain.
• Provide a letter of permission from the copyright holder for the use of images from other publications.

The peer review process is managed online. Authors can log in to Editorial Manager at any time to check the status of their submission. Decisions are communicated by email to the corresponding author. (Authors without email are contacted by phone, fax or post.)

Acknowledgement: Submitted manuscripts are acknowledged by email.

Editorial committee: All manuscripts are initially reviewed by the MJA's in-house editorial committee and those deemed unsuitable (insufficient originality, serious scientific or methodological flaws, or a message that is too specialised or of limited interest to a general medical audience) are returned to the author(s), usually within 4 weeks.

Peer review: Manuscripts are sent, blinded, to two or three experts (from our panel of over 3000). After reassessment by the editorial committee they are returned to the authors, either for revision or because they are unsuitable for publication, about 8 to 10 weeks after the date of submission.

Revision: A request for revision does not mean that the manuscript has been accepted for publication, but is an opportunity to present the best possible article to the editorial committee for a decision about publication. Authors are generally given 4 to 6 weeks to return the revised manuscript to us.

Copyright: Authors are usually asked to transfer copyright to AMPCo at the revision stage. Accepted manuscripts may not be published elsewhere, in whole or in part, without written permission from the Australasian Medical Publishing Company (AMPCo) Ltd.

Click here for a copy of our copyright form in Word document format.

Revisions should be prepared using Word's "Track changes" feature, and should be sent together with a letter outlining the responses to the reviewers' comments.

How to use Track Changes in Word:

• Before revising the document, go to the Tools menu; select Track Changes...Highlight Changes...tick Track changes while editing. Thereafter, deletions will appear as struck-out text, and new text will be in red.
• Alternatively, before revising the document save it under a new name, then make your revisions; lastly use Tools...Track Changes...Compare documents to compare your new document to your old document and save the resulting marked up file.

Acceptance/rejection: The final decision about publication is made by the Editor.

Editing: All accepted manuscripts are edited for brevity and clarity (for some articles editing may be extensive) and authors receive a galley proof of the edited manuscript (by email, or by facsimile if email is not available) for checking of factual accuracy. This should be given urgent attention. No further major corrections are usually possible once the galley proof has been returned to us.

Publication: Authors are notified of the publication date of their article.

Embargo: All accepted manuscripts are subject to embargo until noon on the day before publication. Manuscripts should not be made available to others, nor should any news reports about articles appear until the date of publication.

Press releases: Press releases about each issue of the MJA are issued by the Federal office of the Australian Medical Association. The authors of any article selected for press release will receive a copy of the release for approval in the fortnight before publication.

Reprints: Reprints (black and white or colour) may be ordered for all articles. Prices are supplied with the author's proof or on request.

The table below summarises the requirements for the various categories of MJA articles.

Abbreviations used:
SA = structured abstract (See Haines RB, Mulrow CD, Huth EJ, Altman DG, Gardner MJ. More informative abstracts revisited. Ann Intern Med 1990; 113: 69-76. Note different structures for original research and reviews). Also see our Abstracts page
UA = unstructured abstract.
DPA = dot point abstract.

See the Checklist for submitting a manuscript to the MJA

All experimental investigations on human subjects must include a statement in the Methods section that the subjects gave their informed consent. The name of the ethics committee that gave approval for the study must be stated in the Methods section. Ethical approval may also be required for case reports. Patient anonymity must be preserved, and identifying information should not be published unless it is essential for scientific purposes. If identifying information is essential, authors must provide a signed statement from the patient(s) giving approval for the publication of the identifying material, including photographs.

Studies involving Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander subjects must also state that they have been approved by the relevant local Indigenous representatives.

The MJA supports the registration of trials as an important initiative to improve the reporting of clinical studies (see http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/183_01_040705/van10440_fm.html.) Clinical trials that begin enrolment of patients after 1 July 2005 must register in a public trials registry at or before the onset of enrolment to be considered for publication. If you are submitting a randomised controlled trial please add the registration number of the trial and the name of the trial registry in the acknowledgements section of your manuscript. The Australian Clinical Trial Registry is located at the National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Centre at the University of Sydney (http://www.actr.org.au). Other trial registers that currently meet all of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and World Health Organization (WHO) requirements can be found at http://www.icmje.org/faq.pdf.

Collections of papers on the same topic may be published as supplements, usually funded by sources other than the Journal. They are subject to the Journal's usual editorial and peer-review processes. Contact the Editor if you wish to propose a supplement.

MJA policy on sponsored supplements

1. The journal editor must take full responsibility for policies, practices, and content of supplements. The journal editor must approve the appointment of the supplement editor(s) and retain the authority to reject papers.
2. All contributions will be subject to the Journal's normal peer review process. The editor retains the right to reject articles which do not meet the Journal's standards.
3. The sources of funding should be clearly stated and prominently located in the supplement.
4. Together with the MJA editorial staff the supplement's external editor will be responsible for the recruitment of potential contributors.
5. The sponsor(s) should have no input into articles or influence the contributors as to content.
6. The supplement editor is required to declare any competing interests and if these are prohibitive will need to reconsider his/her role.
7. The supplement's contributors will be required to declare any competing interests and if these are prohibitive will need to reconsider their roles.
8. Honoraria are not encouraged and if granted will be indicated in the supplement.
9. The supplement's articles should not favour drugs/interventions/views/products of the supporting body to the detriment of other drugs/interventions/views/products.
10. Contributors to the supplement must write their own contributions. "Ghost writing" is not permitted.

The first four pages of an article will be published free of charge. Four Journal pages accommodate about 3000 words of plain text, or 2700 words and an average table, or 2300 words and two tables etc. Articles which cannot be shortened will be subject to charges for pages in excess of four. The fee for one excess page is $1000; for two, $2000; for three, $3500; for four, $5000; for more than four, negotiable (GST to be added). The fee (or part thereof) may be waived at the Editor's discretion.

• Manuscript in a wordprocessor document without author-identifying information.
• Covering letter, competing interests statement and acknowledgements in separate Word files.
• Complete details for all authors, including names (with middle initials), qualifications, positions, affiliations, addresses and email addresses.
• Word counts for the main text and for the abstract; do not include references, tables, figures or acknowledgements, or title page.
• No headers, footers or automatic referencing (i.e. referencing software such as Endnote) on the manuscript, just page numbering.
• A signed statement from patient(s) giving permission for publication of any identifying material or photographs.
• A statement about ethical approval.
• A statement about sources of funding.
• Copies of other relevant material (eg, published articles overlapping with the article submitted; questionnaires used for articles involving a survey).