Correspondence between the Bureau of Meteorology and the Office of Senator the Honourable Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water regarding the cost of recent upgrades to the Bureau of…

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This FOI release comprises correspondence and briefing material concerning the Bureau of Meteorology's new website, which went live on 22 October 2025. It includes internal emails about the volume of FOI requests (17 in total, many about cost), a log of meetings between BOM CEO Dr Stuart Minchin and Minister Watt from November 2025 to January 2026 (none with briefing notes on the website), a proposed standard reply for ministerial correspondence, and a key issues brief. The brief states the website redesign cost $4.1 million, while the wider ROBUST infrastructure program totalled $866 million, with about 10 per cent linked to the website. A draft reply cites a total website investment of $96.5 million. Reported usability problems led to the default rain map being changed on 31 October 2025, after briefing emergency management partners. The FOI processing delay to 23 January 2026 is also noted.