OFFICIAL
In reply, please quote:
3 February 2026
FOI30/202
Leisa Reichelt
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Leisa Reichelt,
We understand your interest in our website has prompted you to submit your request under
the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI).
While we are processing your request, we wish to provide some additional information.
About the ROBUST Program
The ROBUST Program was a 7-year transformation program to improve the security,
stability and resilience of the Bureau of Meteorology's information and observing
technologies. The primary objective was to strengthen our operating environment so that
critical services, including the website, are always available.
During 2015 and 2016, the bureau experienced a cyber security breach and 3 major
outages, publicly exposing our operational vulnerability. The Australian Signals Directorate,
Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Cyber Security Centre
identified threats and vulnerabilities which jeopardised our services.
Independent reviews also identified critical issues, including:
• ageing IT infrastructure and applications
• observations network and telemetry
• lack of automation, integration, scalability
• limited system support.
To reduce the growing risk of system failure, the bureau fast-tracked upgrade plans through
funding in the 2017-18 and following federal budgets.
What the ROBUST program achieved
This investment transformed the security, stability and resilience of our operations while
maintaining the critical services we provide.
The BOM website is integrated with these systems and needed to be completely rebuilt.
Without making the changes to address these vulnerabilities, the website and other systems
could be taken offline for days or weeks.
Melbourne Office
GPO Box 1289, Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia | T: 1300 754 389 | www.bom.gov.au | ABN 92 637 533 532
OFFICIAL
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The bureau’s data and systems are relied upon by nationally significant sectors, including
emergency management, defence, aviation, energy and national security. Strengthening our
systems protects both BOM operations and those of the customers who rely on us.
Website project
The website project involved deep analysis of the old website, customer research, an end-to-
end rebuild.
This process closely followed Digital Transformation Agency guidelines and included:
•
Research and planning - customer research and testing, style and content guides
and user interface design.
•
Project delivery and management – coordinating a large-scale program with
multiple teams and partners.
•
Design, architecture and build – building a secure, scalable and future-ready
platform.
•
Business engagement – working with business areas to understand community
needs.
•
New website platform – setting up a modern content system for easy publishing
and fast updates, that enables interactive features.
•
Performance and resilience – capability to handle huge spikes in traffic during
emergencies.
•
Security and protection – strong safeguards against cyber threats.
•
Monitoring and analytics – tools to track performance, detect issues early.
•
Integration with Bureau systems – connecting critical systems for data, alerts and
monitoring.
•
Testing and quality assurance – testing every part of the system to make sure it
performs under pressure.
Website design and accessibility
The last major update to bom.gov.au was in 2013. The site no longer met website security,
accessibility and usability standards and was difficult for many users.
People need to be able to read and understand our content. The more accessible our site is,
the more people can use our information to make decisions when it matters most.
Many areas of the legacy website did not meet accessibility standards. Research showed
that people who rely on assistive technology or read at the average Australian reading age
can struggle to use the site due to the poor layout, navigation and inconsistent design. The
old site was hard to use on a mobile device, which more people now prefer.
Website budget
The cost of the new website reflects the complexity of rebuilding systems to securely handle
millions of visits and vast volumes of weather and climate data, and also integrate with our
technology ecosystem.
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The website handles millions of visits daily, delivering life-protecting information and
operating 24/7. Costs covered:
• community and user research,
• user experience design and testing,
• architecture and integration of complex data sources,
• rigorous testing,
• operational and monitoring tools, and
• security measures.
The investment included both the technology and infrastructure itself (servers, software, data
platforms, etc.) and the people, processes and expertise required to deliver and run it.
As we provide essential services, the transformation had to occur alongside our everyday
work. The project was managed in line with strict government-wide staffing caps, meaning
we had to rely on vendors and contractors to minimise the impacts on our core staff and
ensuring continuity of services.
The original business case underestimated technical challenges and the complexity of 20
years of legacy systems. COVID-19, supply chain issues and inflation also increased costs.
All budget adjustments were made within government funding rules.
The Bureau's initial estimates for the budget for the website prior to market
testing was $37,514,958.
The costs breakdown between interface and technology was as follows:
• interface budget $3,249,913.
• technology budget $34,265,045.
Once the full complexity of project delivery was understood the budget for the website and
channels platforms was revised to $91.6 million The total final cost of the website was
approximately $96.5 million. The high-level cost breakdown is as follows:
• The re-design of the Bureau website (the interface experienced by the
public) cost $4.1 million.
• The primary channels platform and website build (writing and testing the data
integrations and software based on the re-design) cost $79.8 million.
• Additional features, security testing and preparedness for website launch
cost $12.3 million.
Further information
In the interest of transparency, the bureau has attached the following documents on this
topic.
• ROBUST Program Closure Report.pdf
• Information Architecture Summary.pdf
• Behavioural Archetypes.pdf
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• Statement of Conformance BOM website.pdf
• Digital Services Roadmap.pdf
• Customer Decision Making Models.pdf
• Customer Journey Map.pdf
• Search Research - Summary.pdf
• Bureau of Meteorology Beta Audit.pdf
• User Testing - Saved locations ROBUST Report.pdf
• User Testing - BETA1 Customer Testing Report.pdf
• Design Vision Workshop Summary.pdf
You may also wish to refer to publicly available resources, including:
• CEO opening statement to the Senate Estimates Committee | The Bureau of
Meteorology
• Environment and Communications Legislation Committee hearing transcript 1
December 2025
• 2025-26 Supplementary Budget estimates
• Senate Order 509 – Order for the Production of Documents of Reports Prepared by
the Bureau of Meteorology on the progress of the Robust Program
• Bureau of Meteorology Annual Reports
The project continues to be closely managed to ensure it meets community needs and
expectations. This includes prioritising and responding to community feedback and
understanding usage data to improve content and user experience over time.
Yours sincerely,
FOI Officer
OFFICIAL
