wikinews | Wikinews interviews Bureau of Meteorology, Australia over the AU$96.5M website upgrade bill announced by new CEO

In November 2025 the new Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) chief, Dr Stuart Minchin, confirmed that the agency’s website rebuild had cost AU $96.5 million – far above the originally advertised AU $4.1 million front‑end upgrade cap. The figure was disclosed after Environment Minister Murray Watt asked the new CEO to “get on top of” the bill and provide a full explanation. BOM said the overhaul was needed because the old site no longer met modern accessibility, security and usability standards, and that a complete rebuild was the only way to ensure a reliable, safe platform for the millions of Australians who depend on it for weather information.

The project was delivered by a consortium of private consultants, with Accenture receiving AU $78 million (up from an initial AU $38 million award) and Deloitte taking AU $35 million (up from AU $11 million), plus an additional AU $12.6 million for launch and security testing. While the rebuild was originally approved by the former Turnbull Liberal government, it continued under the subsequent Morrison and Albanese administrations; National Party leaders David Littleproud and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce have publicly criticised the cost as excessive. BOM noted that the work also responded to a 2015 cyber‑attack that highlighted the need for a more resilient digital platform.

Since the new site went live on 22 October, BOM has rolled out several user‑driven improvements: radar and weather maps were reverted to an earlier, more intuitive layout; the default weather‑map view now shows rain reflectivity (dBZ); and fire‑behaviour index information was made more accessible on 7 November. The agency emphasised that the rebuild relies on widely adopted open‑source components and modern web standards to deliver better performance, accessibility and security, and that ongoing updates will continue to be guided by user feedback, research and business needs.

Read more: https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews_interviews_Bureau_of_Meteorology%2C_Australia_over_the_AU%2496.5M_website_upgrade_bill_announced_by_new_CEO

#wikinews #bureauofmeteorology #stuartminchin #murraywatt #accenture

#Australien erlebte den nassesten Sommer seit 2016-17 und zugleich den achtheißesten seit Beginn der Messungen.

Laut #BureauOfMeteorology lag der #Niederschlag 32 Prozent über dem Durchschnitt, in #Südaustralia im Februar sogar 356 Prozent. Auf extreme #Hitzewellen mit bis zu 50 Grad folgten #Starkregen #und Überschwemmungen.

Neun der zehn heißesten Sommer traten seit 2012 auf. Fachleute verweisen auf zunehmende #Wetterextreme im Zuge des #Klimawandel.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/03/australia-summer-extreme-weather-wettest-hottest-records

#climatechange

Woke at 5am this morning (just over half an hour ago) drenched in sweat.

It was a hot night again.

#BOM is promising me rain today but it’s been forecasting that all of this year for my area & it’s been wrong 100% of the time.

#weather #BureauOfMeteorology #auspol #VictorianHeatwave

The Australian Bureau of The Sky IS FALLING are doing their seemingly typical flooding of the app with Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, and the storm absolutely didn't eventuate in my little corner of the world.

BUT …

I did notice something!
Something missing!

For as long as I can remember, every Severe Warning has included:
1) "Avoid using the phone", and
2) phone numbers to call

Every time I've seen the phone warning, I've contacted the BOM and asked for clarification:
Is it just a leftover from when landlines were the only phoned?
Does it apply to mobile phones?

I never, ever received any response to any of my enquiries😢, but the current warning text has been updated, and the "Avoid using the phone" is gone!🎉

#BOM #BureauOfMeteorology #bureau

The wild weather warnings for Australians coming on Christmas Day

A volatile mix of extreme heat, heavy rain and storms is set to impact large parts of Australia…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AU #Australia #Bradbury #BureauOfMeteorology #christmas #MiriamBradbury #northernAustralia #SEVEREWEATHER #stormyweather #WesternAustralia #YahooNewsAustralia
https://www.newsbeep.com/320939/

Bureau of Meteorology officially declares La Niña, Aussies warned ‘get your home ready’

Nearly two months after La Niña was first declared in the United States, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AU #Australia #BureauOfMeteorology #LaNiña #NSWStateEmergencyService
https://www.newsbeep.com/278379/

Hotter than average summer forecast as fire authorities warn of ‘highly flammable’ conditions

Fire authorities are warning some parts of Australia are likely to rapidly transition into a “highly flammable” state…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AU #australasianfireauthoritiescouncil #Australia #BureauOfMeteorology #bushfireseason #firedanger
https://www.newsbeep.com/275147/

South-east Queensland braces for intense heatwave and more storm activity

South-east Queensland is set to swelter through the rest of the week, with temperatures expected to climb drastically…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AU #Australia #BOM #Brisbane #BureauOfMeteorology #firewarning #HeatWarning #Heatwave #Queensland #Queenslandheat #Schoolies #seq #Weather
https://www.newsbeep.com/274437/

Originally budgeted for 4 million AUD (~2M EUR), Australia's new botched #BureauOfMeteorology site ballooned into 100M AUD (~50M EUR).

I'd love to hear the story behind what must be one of the most expensive #Drupal sites ever.

As do our Aussie tax paying downunderlings.

Update 1:
80% of the budget went to #Accenture. I am Jack's shocked face.

Update 2:
Most if was used to "secure their systems" following a cyber attack. So why is it counted towards the build cost?

https://www.smh.com.au/technology/premium-prices-for-a-downgrade-96-5-million-bom-website-savaged-20251126-p5niis.html