The Bureau of Meteorology's ROBUST program formally closed on 30 June 2024, delivering more secure, stable, and resilient weather, climate, water, ocean and space weather services to the Australian community.
Over 7 years, the ROBUST program has successfully completed a complex transformation of the Bureau's vast information and observing technology systems.
The program has been the most ambitious project in the history of the Bureau.
Its benefits will continue into the future, ensuring the Bureau's capacity to deliver trusted, reliable and responsive services for Australia – all day, every day.
Outcomes
The completion of ROBUST has strengthened the Bureau's information and observing technology systems to ensure the security, stability and resilience of services critical to the Australian governments, industry and general community. This investment will enable more effective and efficient service delivery into the future, and allow the Bureau to more rapidly develop and support improved products, data and services and to more rapidly recover from service interruptions.
The improvements achieved by ROBUST include:
- Improved cyber and physical security capabilities.
- New IT infrastructure, networks and data centres.
- A new supercomputer computer for back-up and disaster recovery.
- Major upgrades to observing systems, including new and upgraded radars, automated weather balloon launchers, flood warning equipment and associated communications networks.
- A new, secure and resilient Bureau website.
- Upgraded technology platforms for space weather and flood forecasting.
A standardised national operating environment, which allows Bureau employees anywhere in Australia to work remotely and seamlessly access all the technologies they need to do their job.
Background
The ROBUST program was developed to address security, stability and resilience vulnerabilities following a cyber security breach and major outages in 2015 and early 2016. Reviews of Bureau technology, infrastructure and other capabilities identified that vulnerabilities which had arisen partly because of a lack of sustained investment were jeopardising Bureau services.
The ROBUST program received funding in the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21 Federal Budgets. At Program closure on 30 June 2024, total expenditure from 2017-18 to 2023-24 financial years was $866m.
COMMENTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO BUREAU CEO DR ANDREW JOHNSON:
"The ROBUST program has delivered secure, stable and resilient information and observing technologies for the Australian community, ensuring the Bureau can continue in its core mission of providing trusted, reliable and responsive weather, water, climate and ocean services for Australia – all day, every day.
This vital investment in our nationally critical capabilities ensures the Bureau maintains its position as one of the world's foremost and most respected hydrological and meteorological agencies.
ROBUST has been an extraordinary team effort over many years. I thank our staff, partners and suppliers for their outstanding efforts."
