Bees

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) supports the thriving Western Australian (WA) honey bee industry.

Register as a beekeeper with DPIRD

All persons keeping bees in WA are legally required to register with DPIRD. To register as a beekeeper, regardless of whether you have one beehive or 1000, use the Beekeeper registration application form. Upon registration, beekeepers are issued a certificate and provided a unique hive brand that must be legally applied to all supers (including brood boxes). For further information on registration, visit the Registering as an owner of stock or as a beekeeper webpage or contact the Brands Office (Bunbury) by phone 1300 926 547 or email Brands.Bunbury@dpird.wa.gov.au.

For further information on beekeeping in WA, download the Becoming a beekeeper in WA factsheet. Detailed information can be found on the Department’s Becoming a beekeeper in Western Australia webpage.

In addition to registering with DPIRD, all beekeepers in WA are legally required to:

• apply their registered hive brand to all supers
• report all detections of declared pests
• make and retain records of apiary sites and introductions, movements, and sales of bees
• ensure apiaries have clear and legible signage with contact information, where bees are kept on land that does not belong to the beekeeper; and
• make themselves aware of all their obligations under the Biosecurity and Agricultural Management Act 2007 and associated regulations.

Report honey bee pests and diseases

Western Australia’s honey bees are free of many significant pests and diseases found in eastern Australia and overseas. This high value health status results from - and depends on - tight border biosecurity and a strong commitment to surveillance and disease reporting by DPIRD and the beekeeping industry.

All detections of declared pests that have a restricted distribution in WA (such as Small hive beetle) and exotic pests and diseases (such as Varroa mites and European foulbrood) must be immediately reported by calling the Exotic Plant Pest hotline 1800 084 881.

Declared pests that are present throughout WA (such as American foulbrood) must be reported to DPIRD by:

• email the DPIRD Apiary Team: pbhoney@dpird.wa.gov.au
• contact the Pest and Disease Information Service: padis@dpird.wa.gov.au  or (08) 9368 3080; or
• submit a report using the MyPestGuide™ Reporter app (factsheet for MyPestGuide™ Bee Survey).

To help beekeepers identify pests and diseases in their apiaries, DPIRD has developed a field guide to Honey Bee Biosecurity in WA. Further information on specific honey bee pests and diseases can be found on the BeeAware website. All WA beekeepers are encouraged to be compliant with the Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice and to complete the free Biosecurity for Beekeepers course through Plant Health Australia’s Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT) platform.

Further information about beekeeping in WA can be found in the articles listed below: