As a beekeeper in Tasmania, whether you keep bees as a hobby or for commercial purposes, you have an important role to play in helping to protect Tasmania's bees, apiary industry, and pollination-reliant sectors from the harmful impacts of bee pests and diseases.
Listed below are some biosecurity actions you can take to help meet your
general biosecurity duty (GBD) and keep Tasmania biosecurity safe.
Important biosecurity actions
Biosecurity vigilance (also known as Notification of a Biosecurity Event)
Bee pest vigilance
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Notify Biosecurity Tasmania if you identify, or suspect, your bees are infected with specified pests or diseases such as American foulbrood (AFB) or European foulbrood (EFB).
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Notify Biosecurity Tasmania of the presence, or suspected presence, of pests and diseases not endemic to Tasmania such as varroa mite, small hive beetle or Asian honeybee immediately.
Please note: Taking samples in the field may increase the risk of spreading the biosecurity risk. Biosecurity Tasmania will provide further instruction regarding possible sample collection and submission.
Register as a beekeeper
Comply with all movement and import restrictions
- Following the detection of Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) in NSW, the Tasmanian Chief Plant Protection Officer put in place a General Biosecurity Direction (Emergency) to further prevent the introduction of this honeybee pest into Tasmania.
- Please ensure you comply with current import requirements for bees, apiary products and used apiary equipment. Visit our Importing Animals webpage for more information.
- Do not import unprocessed honey, honeycomb, used hives and used beekeeping equipment into Tasmania.
- See the rules for moving bees apiary products and used apiary equipment for more information.
Reduce risk of poisoning events
- Liaise regularly with agriculture producers and landowners in the area around your hive sites to ensure accidental hive poisoning from sprays does not occur.
- Report suspected bee poisoning events from spray drift immediately to the
NRE Tas Spray Referral Unit (1800 005 244).
Visit the website for more information.
Reduce risk of robbing events
- Store honey and hive appliances in a bee-proof manner so not exposed to robber bees.
- Ensure that you do not neglect or abandon any hive, and that you sell or dispose of any hives appropriately if no longer needed.
Some essential actions when moving between hive sites include:
Record any hive movements, lost or stolen hives, hive sales or disposals.
Before arrival at a site – contact the landowner or manager and determine whether there are any specific biosecurity protocols which you will need to follow.
Ensure that your clothes, vehicles, hives and equipment are clean on arrival and free of soil and plant material (such as weed seeds).
Upon arrival – obey any biosecurity signage information and sign the visitor register if there is one in use.
Use designated laneways and tracks where possible, avoid travelling across agricultural production areas and ensure clothes, vehicles and equipment are clean prior to going off track into paddocks, bushland or similar.
Leave farm gates as you found them (i.e. open or closed), unless otherwise instructed by the property owner or manager, or signage. Report any damage to fences to the property owner/manager to prevent the escape or entry of livestock or other animals.
Ensure that agricultural and veterinary chemicals are used appropriately, as per Australian label or applicable APVMA permit, to minimise risk to human health, animal health, plant health and the environment).
Visit the website for information on AgVet chemical use in Tasmania.
When you leave the property – make sure your vehicle and equipment are cleaned (if on-site facilities are available) or at a minimum ensure you clean down your vehicle and equipment before entering the next property. Carrying a basic, personal biosecurity kit is a good way of decontaminating vehicles, clothing and equipment. Recommended contents and instructions on putting a kit together can be found at the
Farm Biosecurity website.
Beekeeping codes and guidelines
Important information
The
Animal Health (Apiaries) Regulations 2011 expired on 26 December 2021.
Transitional arrangements under the
Biosecurity Act 2019, known as a General Biosecurity Direction, have been put in place to extend the current Regulation requirements while Tasmanian beekeepers have an opportunity to register under new
compulsory registration arrangements.
Please visit our webpage for a copy of
Biosecurity Direction (Apiaries) 15/12/2022.
The Australian Honeybee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice
This code is based on the principles of good biosecurity and aims to provide a clear framework for Australian beekeepers to engage in best-practice biosecurity methods.
The Tasmanian Foulbrood Best Management Practice Guidelines
This document outlines the expectations of Tasmanian beekeepers under Section Four of the
Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice.
This document replaces the former Tasmanian 'Oxytetracycline (OTC) Code of Practice'.
The Tasmanian Foulbrood Best Management Practice Guideline
(722Kb)
Develop a biosecurity plan
Developing and implementing an appropriate biosecurity plan is a key step that you can take. Biosecurity plans should contain actions aimed at preventing the introduction or spread of:
They are also a good way to educate staff and visitors on the importance of biosecurity.
There are many online resources to to help you create a biosecurity plan. The BeeAware website is a great starting point.
Contact and Reporting
Contact Biosecurity Tasmania for general information or to report a suspected pest, weed or disease:
Alternatively, for reporting pests, weeds or diseases, you can call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881 or the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline 1800 675 858.
Stay up to date
Subscribing to get Tasmanian Biosecurity Advisories is the best way you can keep yourself up-to-date and fully informed about Tasmanian biosecurity issues.
Our Advisories cover topics such as changes or proposed changes to Tasmania’s import regulations, animal health and welfare, plant health, forthcoming regulation reviews and opportunities for public comment, new or emerging pest/disease risks and a range of other matters related to Tasmania’s biosecurity.
Please note that this information contains minimum recommendations only. The GBD requires a person dealing with biosecurity matter or a carrier to take all reasonable and practicable measures to prevent, eliminate or minimise any biosecurity risk associated with the dealing. Such measures may not be specified in any regulations, guidelines or other official publications.