For 2019–20, the Bureau performed strongly against the performance indicators identified in its corporate plan, as detailed in the performance results. The Bureau’s performance met expectations against 14 measures, partially met expectations against four measures, and did not meet expectations for one measure, indicating that the Bureau has been largely successful in delivering its priorities and planned achievements for the year, in line with its purpose.

The Bureau’s performance results were achieved in the context of an intensely dynamic operating environment, which is likely to continue for 2020–21 and the outlook period (2021–22 to 2023–24) as the Bureau drives a profound positive shift in the impact and value it has for Australia. Important factors affecting the Bureau’s performance include:

• our customers’ increasing desire for personalised and customised delivery of weather, water, climate and ocean information to support their planning and decision-making;
• increasing customer expectations for highly visual services provided via mobile devices;
• the increasing volume and sophistication of cybersecurity threats;
• exponential increases in data volumes and opportunities created by advances in science and technology—including through partner agencies in other countries;
• greater scrutiny of the Bureau’s processes and data streams;
• changes in Australia’s climate, including more frequent and more intense weather extremes that place greater pressure on the environment and those that work on the land;
• increased community risk from extreme weather as the population increases, urban settlement patterns continue to concentrate in coastal areas, and public and private infrastructure expands;
• anticipating and responding to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the continued delivery of critical services to the Australian community and to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff; and
• a challenging budget position requiring greater operational efficiency, and growth and diversification in external revenue sources.

Significant change initiatives that affected the Bureau’s performance in 2019–20 included:

• continuing delivery of the Strategy 2017–2022;
• completing the Aviation Meteorological Services Transformation Program to deliver a more flexible, responsive and cost-effective service to Australia’s aviation industry;
• continuing implementation of the Public Services Transformation Program to deliver a new climatological, hydrological and meteorological service by 2022;
• continuing implementation of the ROBUST Program to improve information and communication technology (ICT) systems and observations systems by raising the security, stability and resilience of the operational network infrastructure;
• commencing implementation of the Business Systems Transformation Program to uplift and streamline finance and human resources systems and processes over the next two years; and
• enhancing many of our products and services such as the BOM Weather app to meet the changing needs of our customers.