Compulsory Beekeeper Registration

​​​​Under Part 5, Division 3, Section 77 of the Biosecurity Act 2019 (the Act), beekeeping is considered to be a ‘regulated dealing’. Under the Act, a person must not engage in a 'regulated dealing' unless they are registered. ​

This means registration of any beekeeping activities is compulsory for ALL Tasmanian beekeepers, whether commercial or recreational.  This requirement was formalised in the new Biosecurity Regulations 2022 which came into effect on 2 November 2022. 

The registration​ period is for 2 years and there is currently no cost to become registered.​​

​Requirements of registration

Registered beekeepers agree to adhere to the following requirements:

• ​re-register and update their details every 24 months (if hive locations or hive numbers differ significantly within the registration period, beekeepers are strongly encouraged to update their registration details using BeeTAS).​​

• adhere to the Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice (the Code):
  

   Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice (PDF 4Mb)

• adhere to any Tasmanian legislation that differs from the Code, i.e., Section 9 of the Code (regarding completion of the Biosecurity for Beekeepers online training course applies to ALL beekeepers in Tasmania, and the Tasmanian Foulbrood Management Standards take precedence over Sections 4.4 - 4.12 of the Code (regarding management of foulbrood disease).

• comply with current import requirements for bees, apiary products and used apiary equipment including the General Biosecurity​ Direction (Emergency)​.​
  

• If you manage more than 20 hives, your honey must be tested annually for American Foulbrood (AFB). Honey samples can be submitted to the Animal Health Laboratory in Prospect.
  

  To submit a sample, please complete the Honey or Brood comb Sample Submission Form:
  

   Honey or Brood comb submission form (PDF 107Kb)

   Honey or Brood comb sample list form (PDF 538Kb)
  

  ​Instructions on how to fill out this form are available here: 
  

   AHL LabFact Honey Brood Comb submissions (PDF 240Kb)

  You will be invoiced directly by the Animal Health Laboratory.
  

• ​​If you have more than 20 hives you must also provide a Declaration of Compliance​ with the code.​​​​

Register (or renew) your beekeeper registration

​​Beekeepers can register (or renew their lapsed beekeeper registration) using BeeTAS.

Beekeepers can access BeeTAS via the Biosecurity Portal at biosecurityportal.tas.gov.au

What is BeeTAS?

BeeTAS is Biosecurity Tasmania's online registration system, designed to assist beekeepers with registration as well as manage their apiary sites.​ BeeTAS allows beekeepers to: 

• register, renew, or cancel their beekeeper registration ​
  

• view and maintain their apiary site information

• record biosecurity actions such as inspections and disease management activities 
  

• record hive purchases, disposals, and hive movements

• upload training certification and laboratory results 
  

BeeTAS will greatly increase Biosecurity Tasmania’s emergency preparedness and ability to respond to exotic honeybee pests and diseases. It will also enhance Biosecurity Tasmania’s ability to efficiently share information with registered Tasmanian beekeepers.​​​

BeeTAS is a secure platform, hosted on data-protected servers in line with Tasmanian Government cyber-security policies.

 BeeTAS User Guide 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Watch this video to find out how to use BeeTAS