During 2003-04 the Bureau negotiated a new Certified Agreement (CA) covering all Bureau staff other than those on individual Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). The agreement, ratified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) on 26 May 2004, will deliver two pay rises of 4 per cent each over a two-year period. It helps to keep Bureau salaries competitive with mainstream APS rates in return for a number of productivity and efficiency improvements.

• the successful transition to the Bureau's new Central Computing Facility in 2004;
• implementation of a Bureau-wide managed desktop environment and establishment of appropriate support arrangements;
• implementation of knowledge management systems to capture the skills of the Bureau's experienced workforce and to investigate and implement streamlined workflows;
• modernisation and re-balancing of observing networks to enable the increased productivity in the Bureau's observing functions;
• continuation of the process of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of weather services;
• streamlining human resource management practices and procedures as opportunities arise, with the aim of simplifying personnel rules, lowering processing costs and freeing up human resources staff to allow a greater effort on strategic personnel and human resource management activities;
• completion of the program of centralisation of all appropriate Regional management services support activities in Head Office, over a one to three-year-period; and
• agreement to a general facilitative clause that allows the Bureau to examine options for possible new organisational and staffing arrangements and streamlining of work practices, as they arise during the life of the agreement, that would contribute to improved efficiency.