The Bureau of Meteorology is comprised of:

• three divisions: Services and Systems, Research, and Corporate;
• seven branches: Observations and Engineering; Communications and Computing Systems; Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre; Weather and Ocean Services Policy; National Operations; Executive and International Affairs; and Management.
• seven regional offices located in the State capital cities and Darwin;
• fifty-seven field offices across Australia, offshore islands and Antarctica; and
• a commercial arm called the Special Services Unit (SSU).

The Director of Meteorology has formal charge of the Bureau under the Meteorology Act 1955 and has the responsibilities and powers of an agency head under the Public Service Act 1999. Supporting the Director, two Deputy Directors and the Chief Scientist oversight key functions of the Bureau as follows:

• Deputy Director (Services and Systems): heads the Services and Systems Division which has the direct responsibility for Output Groups 1.1 (Meteorological and Related Data) and 1.3 (Meteorological and Related Services and Products);
• Deputy Director (Corporate Activities): serves as the Bureau's Chief Finance Officer and heads the Corporate Division which has the direct responsibility for Output Group 1.4 (International Meteorological Activities) and for the corporate and cross-cut ting activities which are attributed as an overhead across all Output Groups; and
• Chief Scientist: heads the Research Division and is responsible for oversighting all research and scientific activities as well as the management of the Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre which has the direct responsibility for Output Group 1.2 (Meteorological and Related Research).

The Director of Meteorology and the three Division Heads form the Bureau Executive. The Executive has the responsibility for setting strategic policies and priorities for the Bureau and is the highest level decision making body within the organisation. Executive meetings are chaired by the Director and generally held fortnightly as circumstances permit.

The actions of the Executive are supported by Senior Management Meetings which involve all members of the Executive, all Branch Heads and the Manager of the SSU. These meetings are held fortnightly on the alternate week to Executive meetings. As well as general program reporting, senior managers respond to key issues that are referred by the Executive for consideration at the branch level.

In addition to these cross-cutting forums, there are a number of specifically-focussed committees that report to one of the Executive members, or to the Executive as a whole. The current committees and their roles are as follows:

• IT Standing Committee - oversees and coordinates all Information Technology activities within the Bureau of Meteorology.
• Australian Meteorological Data and Information Services System (AMDISS) Management Committee - undertakes broad coordination and strategic development of AMDISS.
• Data Management Committee - undertakes coordination and implementation of data management activities within the Bureau.
• Staffing Review Committee - undertakes monitoring of staffing and salary usage and assists in the development of the Bureau's staffing strategy.
• Bureau of Meteorology Staff Consultative Committee - provides a formal forum for unions and staff representatives to meet with the Executive and other senior Bureau management to address workplace relations and related issues.
• Training and Staff Development Committee - oversees planning and coordination of all training activities within the Bureau.
• Library Committee - provides advice to the Executive and to the Chief Librarian on matters relating to library services.
• Basic Product Set Review Committee - provides recommendations to the Executive through the Assistant Director (Weather and Ocean Services) on revisions to the Bureau's Basic Product Set.

The Bureau also has steering committees for all major projects including (during 2004-05) the Climate Prediction Project, the Forecast Streamlining and Enhancement Project, the Australian Tsunami Warning System Project, the Basic Observing System Project, the Management Services Centralisation Project, the Human Resource Management System Project and the Radar Network and Doppler Services Upgrade Project.

Regional Directors report directly to the Director of Meteorology, meet as a group a number of times per year as part of annual planning processes, and are integral to the operation of the Bureau's management framework for planning and operations.

The Senior staff of the Bureau as at 30 June 2005 are shown in relation to the organisational structure in Figure 36.

Figure 36. The senior staff of the Bureau of Meteorology at 30 June 2005.