Overview
- The Bureau of Meteorology formally commissioned an independent review on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, with former Murray–Darling Basin Authority head Phillip Glyde appointed to lead the panel.
- The review was requested by bureau chief Stuart Minchin in consultation with Environment Minister Murray Watt in response to the 2025 website overhaul that left many users unable to access forecasts during severe weather.
- The inquiry’s terms of reference call for an assessment of public communications, customer service, reputation, unmet demand and the bureau’s strategic direction to ensure services meet Australians’ needs.
- The website redesign drew intense criticism when its originally reported $4.1 million price tag was later disclosed as $96 million and the rollout prompted changes at the bureau and the retirement of its chief customer officer.
- The panel’s report, due in March 2027, will feed into the Bureau’s next long-term strategy and could prompt changes to governance, procurement, communications or service design that affect farmers, emergency services and mariners who rely on BoM data.