The bureaucratic saga was revealed on Tuesday when the Bureau of Meteorology informed media outlets it was no longer to be referred to as "BOM", as Australia's east coast was ravaged by devastating flooding.

The project has cost the government a total of $220,296 across two contracts, with the largest being given to Era-Co, a creative firm, to deliver a logo and visual style for $118,177.

A Melbourne communications firm, the C-Word, earned $69,300 for communication and implementation planning support while the weather bureau spent an additional $32,819 on pull-up banners and other implementation costs.

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Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek described the untimely announcement of the rebranding project amid severe weather events as being "ridiculous".

"The Bureau of Meteorology, the BOM - Australians will make up their own minds about what they call it," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

"What matters is accurate and timely weather information for communities, particularly during severe weather like we're experiencing right now. That's where my focus is. People are hurting.

"This 'rebrand' work was undertaken during the previous government. I've asked for urgent information about all the costs and contracts entered into under the previous government."

The Bureau of Meteorology's edict called on reporters to stop referring to the agency as "BOM" or the "Weather Bureau" in line with the Meteorology Act 1955.

Instead, its full name should be used in the first instance followed by "the Bureau" in other instances.

While the agency said it would be updating its Twitter handles to reflect the change, it did not secure the usernames ahead of the public announcement.

The social media snafu resulted in a number of internet users claiming the Twitter handles the bureau intended to use.

A bureau spokesperson said on Tuesday it was an unfortunate result but it was working to get them back.

"We are working closely with Twitter to rectify this, in the meantime, all existing BOM Twitter handles remain active," the spokesperson said.

Ms Plibersek said she did not understand why the former Coalition government had approved the weather bureau's branding changes, prompting a retort by opposition environment spokesperson Jonathan Duniam.

Mr Duniam said the Labor minister needed to stop "lazily blame-shifting" and "immediately put a stop to this embarrassment".

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