Several significant asset management initiatives were undertaken during the year:

• assets were revalued on a Fair Value basis as distinct from the Deprival Value basis;
• a stocktake of Head Office assets was conducted;
• the need to retain some fully depreciated assets was assessed;
• new processes and procedures were implemented to ensure the timely commissioning of assets under construction and the capture of completed assets in the asset register; and
• the Bureau's asset management processes and procedures were consolidated in an Asset Management Manual, to be issued in 2004-05.

Property resource and leasehold management in 2003-04 involved civil works and fitout programs required to provide adequate and energy-efficient operational environments, improvements to staff accommodation and security, ongoing rationalisation of national property assets, and continued refinement of property asset management and reporting systems.

The main project in 2003-04 was the fitout of the Bureau's new Head Office and Victoria Regional Office accommodation at 700 Collins Street Docklands Victoria, ahead of the formal move planned for July 2004. This involved the exploration of ways in which the Bureau's special needs, including the Central Computing Facility, workshops and laboratories, and 24 x 7 operational areas might best be accommodated. Extensive consultation was undertaken with staff, consultants and the developers to ensure both the base building and the fitout were appropriate for organisational requirements.

Other property and leasehold projects progressed during the year included:

• the construction of a new residence at Norfolk Island;
• the installation of new meteorological radar facilities at Mt Gambier (South Australia), Cape Range (Learmonth, Western Australia) and Bowen (Queensland); and
• the introduction of a Profiler Radar at Launceston Airport and the establishment of a new Meteorological Office within the Launceston central business district (in parallel, the office located at Launceston Airport was closed).