I am honored to represent the Bureau of Meteorology as the incoming CEO and Director of Meteorology. The Bureau is a unique organisation relied on by millions of Australians. We provide essential data and services to enable national security and defence operations, inform our energy and resources enterprises, support aviation and agricultural activities, underpin the nation's burgeoning space industry and, most importantly, the BOM safeguards communities from severe weather events and plays an important role in helping Australians respond to a changing climate.
The Bureau's website has been a key focus of late and I want to put some context around that project on the record.
In 2015, the Bureau experienced a significant cyber intrusion, followed by major technology outages in 2016. The Bureau needed to completely transform its vast information and observing technology systems.
The ROBUST Program was created in response.
The ROBUST Program was funded in 3 tranches to provide the government with multiple assessment and review opportunities:
- Tranche 1 was funded in the 2017-18 Budget ($91.5 million)
- Tranche 2 in the 2018-19 Budget ($346.9 million)
- Tranche 3 in the 2020-21 Budget ($350 million).
The total original budget across the 3 tranches was $788 million and the original program end date was 30 June 2023. There was no contingency funding provided and the Bureau had to manage the Program in line with the strict average staffing level (ASL) caps that were in place at the time, which meant that delivery of the program relied on vendors and contractors.
The Program was delivered through the extended COVID19 pandemic, which impacted key labour markets and also during a period of beyond-forecast inflation which particularly impacted technology costs.
Accordingly, the ROBUST Program ultimately closed on 25 July 2024 having materially met over 90% of its intended outcomes. Total expenditure was $866 million. The $78 million difference between the original budget and final amount was funded out of departmental funding and in line with Budget Process Operational Rules.
At the closure of the ROBUST Program, the ROBUST Transition Program was established to deliver a number of remaining uncompleted items. The ROBUST Transition Program cost $47 million and was funded out of departmental funding. The ROBUST Transition Program formally closed on 7 November 2025 having met all of its exit criteria.
ROBUST has delivered transformative security, stability and resilience benefits for the Bureau and the Australian community including:
- Two new, geographically separated, data centres are now operating, with new technology infrastructure in place.
- A new second supercomputer is in place, providing backup in the event of catastrophic failure of the Bureau's primary supercomputer.
- The data and integration platforms, the means through which data is collected, stored and moved through Bureau systems to form public weather and climate products, have been redesigned and rebuilt, with improved security, system monitoring, support and incident response capability.
- High-risk observations sites have been replaced - including new radars, automated balloon launchers, flood warning equipment and associated communications networks.
- The Bureau's data stores and data management practices have been redesigned, strengthening the integrity of Bureau data holdings and minimising the possibility of data corruption or loss.
- Improved connectivity between Bureau sites has been established, enabling multi-site failover of forecasting services.
- The security of Bureau software applications has been improved, including quarantining them from malicious attack. More than 20 legacy software applications have been decommissioned.
- A new asset management system has been implemented, including support for mobile field work.
- End user security has been addressed, including modernising devices, multi-factor authentication, migration to cloud services and upgrades to new operating systems.
- International data-sharing connections have been rebuilt to modern, secure protocols.
The Bureau's new website was also delivered as part of the ROBUST Program. The new website accounted for approximately $96 million of the overall cost of the ROBUST Program. This cost reflects the significant investment required to fully rebuild all the layers of technology and systems that underpin the website. We needed to make sure it is secure and stable and can draw in the huge amounts of data gathered from our observing network and weather models, as well handle millions of visits each day.
However, the response to the launch of the new BOM website shows that we didn't get it right for some sectors of the community. We accept this feedback and I have personally seen first-hand just how committed Bureau staff are to understanding and addressing the feedback.
The Bureau is rightly recognised across the world for the contribution it makes to the meteorological and scientific community. And we know the BOM holds a privileged place in the hearts and minds of many Australians. We are also fortunate to have an expert and highly dedicated workforce committed to providing the best possible service to the Australian community.
We accept and embrace the feedback we've received and I am personally committed to ensuring this significant investment leads to better outcomes for those we serve.
Thank you.
