[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":404},["ShallowReactive",2],{"active-categories":3,"blowouts":28,"story-\u002Fstories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on":83,"related-\u002Fstories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on":366,"surround-\u002Fstories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on":400},[4,6,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27],{"category":5},"follow-the-money",{"category":7},"cost-of-living",{"category":9},"government-waste",{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":5},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":5},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},[29,39,49,58,66,75],{"path":30,"title":31,"category":9,"date":32,"blowout":33},"\u002Fstories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on","One year on: the BOM website that cost $96.5 million, not $4 million","2026-10-24",{"project":34,"originalCost":35,"currentCost":36,"announced":37,"note":38},"BOM website",4100000,96500000,"2025","$4.1m was the figure first given to the public.",{"path":40,"title":41,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":43},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion","Cross River Rail was sold as a $5.4 billion project. The government now says it costs $19 billion","2026-10-25",{"project":44,"originalCost":45,"currentCost":46,"announced":47,"note":48},"Cross River Rail",5400000000,19041000000,"2017","Queensland Government figure (Oct 2025). It includes 25 years of tunnel maintenance and network works; Labor disputes counting them.",{"path":50,"title":51,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":52},"\u002Fstories\u002Fhunter-class-frigates-27-billion-three-ships","Hunter-class frigates: sold as nine warships for $35 billion. We're now paying $27 billion for three",{"project":53,"originalCost":54,"currentCost":55,"announced":56,"note":57},"Hunter-class frigates",35000000000,45600000000,"2018","2020 Force Structure Plan estimate for nine ships. The program is now six ships; close to $27bn is allocated for the first three, including the Osborne shipyard.",{"path":59,"title":60,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":61},"\u002Fstories\u002Finland-rail-cost-blowout-45-billion-parkes","Inland Rail was sold as a $10.7 billion project. It now costs $45.6 billion, and stops at Parkes",{"project":62,"originalCost":63,"currentCost":55,"announced":64,"note":65},"Inland Rail",10660000000,"2015","Both P90 estimates for the full Melbourne to Brisbane line. Only Beveridge to Parkes is now being built.",{"path":67,"title":68,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":69},"\u002Fstories\u002Fnorth-east-link-cost-blowout-26-billion","North East Link was sold as a $10 billion road. It now costs $26 billion",{"project":70,"originalCost":71,"currentCost":72,"announced":73,"note":74},"North East Link",10000000000,26100000000,"2016","Victoria's December 2023 estimate. Includes the Eastern Freeway and M80 upgrades added since.",{"path":76,"title":77,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":78},"\u002Fstories\u002Fsnowy-2-0-cost-blowout-25-billion","Snowy 2.0 was sold as a $2 billion project. It could now cost $25 billion",{"project":79,"originalCost":80,"currentCost":81,"announced":47,"note":82},"Snowy 2.0",2000000000,22200000000,"Target cost. Up to $25bn with contingency; transmission not included.",{"id":84,"title":31,"author":85,"bigNumber":86,"bigNumberLabel":87,"blowout":88,"body":89,"category":9,"date":32,"description":322,"draft":323,"extension":324,"featured":323,"focusKeywords":325,"image":326,"imageAlt":327,"meta":328,"navigation":329,"path":30,"people":330,"readingTime":331,"refresh":332,"seo":333,"shareImage":334,"sources":335,"stem":357,"tags":358,"updated":364,"__hash__":365},"stories\u002Fstories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on.md","Aussie Outrage","$96.5m","What the BOM website really cost, after the public was told $4.1m",{"project":34,"originalCost":35,"currentCost":36,"announced":37,"note":38},{"type":90,"value":91,"toc":312},"minimark",[92,96,99,102,107,112,124,130,139,195,199,217,224,227,242,245,249,256,260,267,271,274,277,287,293],[93,94,95],"p",{},"On Wednesday 22 October 2025, the Bureau of Meteorology switched on its new website. Four days later, on Sunday afternoon, severe thunderstorms and a tornado tore across south-east Queensland and Victoria, leaving more than 60,000 Queensland homes without power. It was exactly when millions of people needed the radar most.",[93,97,98],{},"What they got was a radar that was hard to read, place names they couldn't make out, and rainfall data that farmers couldn't find. The new radar's colour scale stopped at orange, so the black that Australians had learned to read as hail was gone. \"The new BOM radar view has essentially clipped the top end of the radar scale at orange, so we can't see any detail in the biggest storms,\" 7NEWS meteorologist Tony Auden said. Nationals leader David Littleproud pointed out you could no longer search by GPS coordinates, only by town or postcode, which is useless if your property sits between towns.",[93,100,101],{},"Nine days after launch, the bureau switched the radar map back to the old style.",[103,104],"slide-carousel",{":slides":105,"label":106},"[{\"src\":\"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F01.jpg\",\"alt\":\"The Bureau of Meteorology's website really cost $96.5 million, after the public was first told $4.1 million\"},{\"src\":\"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F02.jpg\",\"alt\":\"The public was first told the BOM website cost $4.1 million; it actually cost about $96.5 million, 23 times more, including $79.8 million for the build and $12.6 million for launch and security testing\"},{\"src\":\"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F03.jpg\",\"alt\":\"The new BOM website launched on 22 October 2025; four days later storms and a tornado hit south-east Queensland and Victoria, and the new radar's colour scale stopped at orange, losing the black Australians read as hail. Nine days after launch the radar map went back to the old style\"},{\"src\":\"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F04.jpg\",\"alt\":\"Most of the BOM website money went to Accenture Australia, whose contract started at $31 million and grew to $78 million through nine extensions\"},{\"src\":\"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F05.jpg\",\"alt\":\"Greens senator Barbara Pocock at Senate Estimates in late 2025: \\\"This is a firm that is famous for 'land and expand'.\\\" In March 2026 Accenture won a further $15.68 million contract from the Australian Climate Service\"},{\"src\":\"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F06.jpg\",\"alt\":\"In August 2026 the bureau announced an independent review led by Phillip Glyde, due by 31 March 2027, almost eighteen months after the launch; its terms of reference don't specifically name the website\"},{\"src\":\"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F07.jpg\",\"alt\":\"In 2025–26 the federal Disaster Ready Fund put $200 million into 96 projects to prepare for bushfires, floods and cyclones, including a $14.62 million cyclone shelter for up to 800 people on Palm Island; the BOM website cost $96.5 million, almost half as much\"}]","The BOM website blowout in 7 slides",[108,109,111],"h2",{"id":110},"the-4-million-website-that-wasnt","The $4 million website that wasn't",[93,113,114,115,119,120,123],{},"At first, the public was told the redesign cost about ",[116,117,118],"strong",{},"$4.1 million",". A month after launch, the bureau told the ABC the real figure was approximately ",[116,121,122],{},"$96.5 million",".",[125,126],"big-stat",{"label":127,"source":128,"value":129},"How much more the BOM website cost than Australians were first told","BOM statement, November 2025","23x",[131,132],"bar-chart",{":data":133,"prefix":134,"source":135,"subtitle":136,"suffix":137,"title":138},"[{\"label\":\"What the public was first told\",\"value\":4.1},{\"label\":\"What it actually cost\",\"value\":96.5,\"highlight\":true}]","$","BOM statement to the ABC, November 2025","Cost of the BOM website, millions of dollars","m","What we were told vs what it cost",[140,141,142,155],"table",{},[143,144,145],"thead",{},[146,147,148,152],"tr",{},[149,150,151],"th",{},"What",[149,153,154],{},"Cost",[156,157,158,167,175,183],"tbody",{},[146,159,160,164],{},[161,162,163],"td",{},"Redesign",[161,165,166],{},"$4.1m",[146,168,169,172],{},[161,170,171],{},"Website build (back-end systems)",[161,173,174],{},"$79.8m",[146,176,177,180],{},[161,178,179],{},"Launch and security testing",[161,181,182],{},"$12.6m",[146,184,185,190],{},[161,186,187],{},[116,188,189],{},"Total",[161,191,192],{},[116,193,194],{},"~$96.5m",[108,196,198],{"id":197},"a-31-million-contract-that-became-78-million","A $31 million contract that became $78 million",[93,200,201,202,205,206,209,210,213,214,123],{},"Most of the money went to one company. The bureau's contract with ",[116,203,204],{},"Accenture Australia"," started at ",[116,207,208],{},"$31 million"," and grew to ",[116,211,212],{},"$78 million"," through ",[116,215,216],{},"nine extensions",[131,218],{":data":219,"prefix":134,"source":220,"subtitle":221,"suffix":137,"title":222,":decimals":223},"[{\"label\":\"Original contract\",\"value\":31},{\"label\":\"After nine extensions\",\"value\":78,\"highlight\":true}]","ABC News, 24 March 2026","Value of the BOM contract, millions of dollars","Accenture's contract, before and after nine extensions","0",[93,225,226],{},"At Senate Estimates in late 2025, Greens senator Barbara Pocock called it a \"nightmare Harvard case study in contract failure and management of contracts\", and said of Accenture: \"This is a firm that is famous for 'land and expand'.\" The bureau's chief information and technology officer, Nichole Brinsmead, pushed back: \"I don't think these contracts were as badly managed as you make out.\" Environment Minister Murray Watt said it \"may well be a contract that demonstrates the need for greater oversight of consultants\".",[93,228,229,230,233,234,237,238,241],{},"The website is part of a much bigger overhaul known as the ROBUST program, set up after a significant cyber intrusion in 2015 and major technology outages in 2016. ROBUST was funded in three tranches in the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21 Budgets ($91.5 million, $346.9 million and $350 million), a total of ",[116,231,232],{},"$788 million",". According to the bureau's chief executive, it closed in July 2024 having cost ",[116,235,236],{},"$866 million",", with the extra $78 million coming from the bureau's own budget, and a follow-up \"transition program\" to finish the remaining work cost another ",[116,239,240],{},"$47 million",". The new website \"accounted for approximately $96 million\" of ROBUST.",[93,243,244],{},"Minchin told Senate Estimates the response to the launch \"shows that we didn't get it right for some sectors of the community\".",[108,246,248],{"id":247},"then-the-same-company-won-more-work","Then the same company won more work",[93,250,251,252,255],{},"In March 2026, the Australian Climate Service (a partnership of federal agencies that includes the bureau) awarded Accenture a further ",[116,253,254],{},"$15.68 million"," contract to build a \"Climate Risk Hub\", with options that could run to 2033. Climate scientists, speaking anonymously to the ABC, questioned whether it would deliver value for money, especially if it came at the expense of research at the bureau and CSIRO.",[108,257,259],{"id":258},"still-waiting-for-answers","Still waiting for answers",[93,261,262,263,266],{},"Watt asked the bureau's new chief executive, Stuart Minchin, to report back on what went wrong. In August 2026 the bureau announced an independent review led by Phillip Glyde, a former chief executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. It is due to report by ",[116,264,265],{},"31 March 2027",", almost eighteen months after the launch, and its terms of reference don't specifically name the website.",[108,268,270],{"id":269},"why-it-matters","Why it matters",[93,272,273],{},"The BOM website isn't a vanity project. Farmers plan harvests around it, emergency services use it in floods and fires, and families check it before they drive. When it fails during a storm, that isn't a design problem. It's a safety problem.",[93,275,276],{},"And when a public agency tells taxpayers a project cost $4 million, then admits it cost $96.5 million, people are entitled to ask what else they haven't been told.",[93,278,279,282,283,286],{},[116,280,281],{},"For scale:"," the BOM website cost almost half as much as a whole year of the federal government's Disaster Ready Fund. In 2025–26 the fund put ",[116,284,285],{},"$200 million"," into 96 projects across Australia to prepare for bushfires, floods and cyclones, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. One of them is a cyclone shelter for up to 800 people on Palm Island, with $14.62 million in Commonwealth funding.",[131,288],{":data":289,"prefix":134,"source":290,"subtitle":291,"suffix":137,"title":292},"[{\"label\":\"Disaster Ready Fund, 2025–26 (96 projects)\",\"value\":200},{\"label\":\"The BOM website\",\"value\":96.5,\"highlight\":true}]","NEMA, Disaster Ready Fund Round Three (2025–26); BOM statement to the ABC, November 2025","Millions of dollars","One website vs a year of disaster readiness",[93,294,295],{},[296,297,298,299,306,307,123],"em",{},"Top photo: the Bureau of Meteorology's Berrimah weather radar, Darwin (file photo, 2007). Photo: Bidgee, ",[300,301,305],"a",{"href":302,"rel":303},"https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Flicenses\u002Fby\u002F3.0",[304],"nofollow","CC BY 3.0",", via ",[300,308,311],{"href":309,"rel":310},"https:\u002F\u002Fcommons.wikimedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFile:Berrimah-radar-darwin-nt.jpg",[304],"Wikimedia Commons",{"title":313,"searchDepth":314,"depth":315,"links":316},"",2,3,[317,318,319,320,321],{"id":110,"depth":314,"text":111},{"id":197,"depth":314,"text":198},{"id":247,"depth":314,"text":248},{"id":258,"depth":314,"text":259},{"id":269,"depth":314,"text":270},"The weather bureau's redesign launched days before a wild storm weekend, confused farmers, and cost 23 times what Australians were first told. Then the same contractor won more work.",false,"md",[],"\u002Fimages\u002Fbom-berrimah-radar-darwin.jpg","The white dome of a Bureau of Meteorology weather radar on a tower at Berrimah, Darwin",{},true,[],6,null,{"title":31,"description":322},"\u002Fcarousels\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on\u002F01.jpg",[336,339,342,345,348,351,354],{"title":337,"url":338},"ABC News: BOM's new boss asked to examine $96.5m bill for website redesign (23 Nov 2025)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.abc.net.au\u002Fnews\u002F2025-11-23\u002Fbureau-of-meteorology-new-website-cost-blowout-to-96-million\u002F106042202",{"title":340,"url":341},"ABC News: Company that built highly criticised BOM website wins $16m contract (24 Mar 2026)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.abc.net.au\u002Fnews\u002F2026-03-24\u002Fcompany-in-96m-bom-site-redesign-gets-16m-contract\u002F106478264",{"title":343,"url":344},"Information Age (ACS): Storm erupts over BOM's $96.5m website bill","https:\u002F\u002Fia.acs.org.au\u002Farticle\u002F2025\u002Fstorm-erupts-over-bom-s--96-5m-website-bill.html",{"title":346,"url":347},"Bureau of Meteorology: CEO opening statement to Senate Estimates","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bom.gov.au\u002Fnews-and-media\u002Fceo-opening-statement-to-the-senate-estimates-committee",{"title":349,"url":350},"The Nightly: BOM to face independent review after $96m website launch (4 Aug 2026)","https:\u002F\u002Fthenightly.com.au\u002Faustralia\u002Fbureau-of-meteorology-to-face-independent-review-months-after-96m-website-launch-disaster-c-22675062",{"title":352,"url":353},"The Nightly \u002F 7NEWS: New BOM radar caused confusion after storms rip through Queensland and Victoria (27 Oct 2025)","https:\u002F\u002Fthenightly.com.au\u002Faustralia\u002Fnew-bureau-of-meteorology-radar-caused-confusion-after-storms-rip-through-queensland-and-victoria-c-20482752",{"title":355,"url":356},"National Emergency Management Agency: Disaster Ready Fund","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nema.gov.au\u002Four-work\u002Fkey-programs\u002Fdisaster-ready-fund","stories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on",[359,360,361,362,363],"bureau-of-meteorology","consultants","accenture","it-projects","blowouts","2026-10-30","suliBvLJO3__Iq5ZbcgD6CQ5mrNq21sINNdDFEV1K8k",[367,375,384,392],{"path":368,"title":369,"description":370,"date":371,"category":9,"author":85,"image":332,"imageAlt":332,"bigNumber":372,"bigNumberLabel":373,"readingTime":374,"featured":323},"\u002Fstories\u002Fsuburban-rail-loop-cost-96-billion","Suburban Rail Loop cost: $50bn promised, $96.4bn forecast","How much will the Suburban Rail Loop cost? $33.3bn for stage one, says the government, but the Auditor-General says it could top $36bn. Two stages: $96.4bn.","2026-11-01","$96.4bn","What Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Office estimated in 2024 it would cost to build two sections of the loop. All of it was promised for $50bn.",12,{"path":376,"title":377,"description":378,"date":379,"category":9,"author":85,"image":380,"imageAlt":381,"bigNumber":382,"bigNumberLabel":383,"readingTime":314,"featured":323},"\u002Fstories\u002Fbig-build-office-pot-plants-1-6-million","$1.6 million on pot plants for Big Build offices","Rail Projects Victoria spent an estimated $1.64 million on plant hire and maintenance, and the Suburban Rail Loop Authority almost $200,000 more, according to the state opposition.","2026-10-26","\u002Fimages\u002Foffice-plants-desk.jpg","Small potted succulents on a timber office desk","$1.6m","Estimated spend on plant hire and maintenance at Rail Projects Victoria",{"path":385,"title":386,"description":387,"date":379,"category":9,"author":85,"image":388,"imageAlt":389,"bigNumber":390,"bigNumberLabel":391,"readingTime":314,"featured":323},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcommonwealth-games-cancelled-589-million","$589 million to host nothing: what cancelling the Commonwealth Games cost Victoria","Victoria pulled out of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to save money. The Auditor-General found walking away cost $589 million with no discernible benefit, and the $6.9 billion figure used to justify it was overstated.","\u002Fimages\u002Feureka-stadium-ballarat.jpg","An aerial view of Eureka Stadium in Ballarat, with a blue athletics track behind it","$589m","What Victoria paid to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games",{"path":393,"title":394,"description":395,"date":379,"category":9,"author":85,"image":396,"imageAlt":397,"bigNumber":398,"bigNumberLabel":399,"readingTime":314,"featured":323},"\u002Fstories\u002Fmachete-ban-13-million-bins","The $13 million machete ban: what the money actually pays for","Victoria set aside $13 million for its machete ban and amnesty bins. The bins cost about $2,400 each. The government still hasn't said where the rest of the money goes.","\u002Fimages\u002Fmachete-amnesty-bin-echuca.jpg","A navy steel bin labelled Machete Amnesty Safe Disposal Bin outside Echuca police station","$13m","Budgeted for Victoria's machete ban, including about 45 disposal bins",[401,332],{"title":77,"path":76,"stem":402,"description":403,"children":-1},"stories\u002Fsnowy-2-0-cost-blowout-25-billion","Snowy 2.0 was sold at $2 billion in 2017. Snowy Hydro's new target cost is $22.2 billion, up to $25 billion, and first power is now 2029. How it blew out.",1793586230216]