old bom website

Why Australians Are Furious About the New BOM Website (And Why It Matters)

When the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) launched its redesigned website in late 2025, few expected the backlash that followed. What should have been a routine digital upgrade quickly spiralled into a national conversation about accessibility, usability, and the importance of public trust in critical weather services.

The new BOM site, intended to modernise Australia’s primary source for weather forecasts, radar, and emergency alerts, has instead become a lightning rod for criticism. From frustrated farmers checking crop conditions to city dwellers tracking storms, users across the country are demanding the return of the old BOM website — or at least a major overhaul of the current one.

What Went Wrong? The Verified Backlash

According to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the federal government has formally ordered the Bureau of Meteorology to fix its redesigned website following an “unprecedented torrent of complaints.” The directive came after weeks of mounting public frustration and media scrutiny, with users citing broken navigation, missing features, and unreliable radar data.

The ABC noted that the government intervention was “rare and significant,” reflecting the critical role BOM plays in daily life across Australia — from agriculture and transport to emergency management and outdoor recreation.

Adding fuel to the fire, the Brisbane Times reported that the BOM radar system was offline for several hours during a severe storm event in south-east Queensland in late October 2025. With torrential rains and damaging winds approaching, residents and emergency services were left in the dark due to the outage, which some blamed on technical issues tied to the new website infrastructure.

Meanwhile, The Guardian Australia published a detailed analysis titled “Storm in a teacup or dark clouds: why do people hate the BoM website redesign?” The article highlighted widespread user anger, with readers describing the new interface as “confusing,” “slower,” and “less functional than a 2005 Geocities page.”

“I’ve used BOM for 20 years to plan irrigation and crop spraying,” said one Queensland farmer quoted in The Guardian. “Now I can’t find the 14-day forecast or the radar loop. It’s like they forgot who the website is for.”

These verified reports paint a clear picture: the new BOM website isn’t just unpopular — it’s undermining public confidence in a vital national service.

Recent Updates: A Timeline of Turmoil

Here’s a breakdown of the key developments since the BOM website launch:

• Late October 2025: BOM rolls out its redesigned website and mobile interface, promising “a faster, more intuitive experience with enhanced data visualisation.”
• Within 48 hours: Social media erupts with complaints. Users report broken links, missing radar timelapses, and difficulty accessing historical weather data.
• October 27, 2025: The ABC publishes its exposé, revealing that internal BOM staff had raised usability concerns during the testing phase but were overruled.
• October 29, 2025: The federal government issues a formal directive ordering BOM to “immediately address user concerns” and restore key functionalities. The directive includes a 30-day deadline for improvements.
• October 30, 2025: The Brisbane Times reports a six-hour radar outage during a severe storm in south-east Queensland. While BOM attributes the failure to “technical integration issues,” critics argue it’s a direct consequence of prioritising the website redesign over core system reliability.
• November 1, 2025: The Guardian publishes its in-depth piece, featuring interviews with meteorologists, emergency managers, and long-time BOM users. The article concludes that the redesign “prioritised aesthetics over utility.”

Why the Old BOM Website Worked — And Why People Miss It

To understand the backlash, it helps to look at what made the old BOM website so effective — and why so many Australians feel betrayed by its replacement.

For decades, BOM’s digital presence was built on a simple principle: clarity over complexity. The site wasn’t flashy, but it was predictable. Users knew where to find:

• Real-time radar loops (critical during cyclones, bushfires, and thunderstorms)
• 14-day forecasts (essential for agriculture, tourism, and event planning)
• Tide and swell data (used by fishers, surfers, and maritime workers)
• Severe weather warnings (often the difference between safety and danger)

The old site also had minimal load times, worked well on older devices, and was accessible to people in regional and remote areas with slower internet connections. It was, in short, built for resilience and reliability — not for impressing design award juries.

In contrast, the new site appears to have adopted a “mobile-first,” app-style design with heavy graphics, auto-refreshing panels, and hidden menus. While this may appeal to younger, tech-savvy users in cities, it alienates older demographics, regional users, and those with limited digital literacy.

“The old site was like a trusted tool in your shed,” said a retired weather observer from rural Victoria. “The new one feels like a smartwatch you don’t know how to turn off.”

According to unverified but widely shared feedback from online forums and social media (including Reddit’s r/Australia and Facebook community groups), many users are now relying on third-party apps that pull data from BOM’s old APIs — or worse, turning to international weather services like AccuWeather or Weather.com, which lack localised accuracy.

This shift is concerning because BOM data is government-verified, locally calibrated, and freely available. When users abandon it, they risk missing critical warnings or acting on less accurate forecasts.

The Hidden Cost of Poor Digital Design

The BOM website debacle isn’t just about aesthetics — it has real-world consequences.

1. Public Safety Risks

When radar is down or warnings are buried in a confusing interface, lives are at stake. Emergency services, particularly in flood- or fire-prone areas, rely on BOM data to make split-second decisions. The six-hour radar outage in Queensland, during an active storm, could have delayed evacuation orders or misdirected emergency response.

“In a bushfire, a 10-minute delay in receiving a wind shift alert can mean the difference between containment and catastrophe,” said a former fire operations officer, speaking to The Guardian.

2. Economic Impact

Australia’s agriculture sector — worth over $80 billion annually — depends on precise weather data. Delays or inaccuracies in forecasts can lead to costly decisions, such as irrigating when rain is imminent or harvesting crops too early.

Tourism operators, outdoor event planners, and construction firms also rely on BOM data. A confusing website means missed bookings, rescheduling, and financial losses.

3. Erosion of Public Trust

BOM is one of Australia’s most trusted scientific institutions. But when a core service fails, trust erodes fast. A 2023 Roy Morgan survey found that 87% of Australians trusted BOM’s forecasts — a figure likely to drop if the website continues to underperform.

Moreover, the perception that the redesign was driven by bureaucratic or political priorities — rather than user needs — fuels cynicism about government tech projects.

Who’s to Blame? And Who’s Fixing It?

The redesign was reportedly led by a combination of BOM’s internal IT team and external contractors, with input from federal digital transformation initiatives. According to unverified reports, the project was influenced by Whole-of-Government Digital Service Standards, which promote modern, responsive designs — but may not account for the unique needs of weather services.

Critics argue that BOM failed to conduct adequate user testing, especially with rural, elderly, and low-bandwidth users. The ABC report suggests that beta testers flagged issues with navigation and radar access, but these were dismissed as “minor” or “transitional.”

Now, under government pressure, BOM has formed a rapid response team to address the most pressing issues. According to a statement released on November 2 (verified via BOM’s press office), the agency has committed to:

• Restoring full radar functionality by November 15
• Reintroducing a simplified version of the old 14-day forecast layout
• Improving accessibility for screen readers and older devices
• Launching a public feedback portal for ongoing