State-by-state rules | The Bee Bible

Bee rules in Australia are made by each state and territory, not by one national law. The same hive can be treated differently on each side of a border. This page is a map of who is in charge where, which law applies, and where to read the official rules. It is not legal advice.

Rules, regulators and web addresses change, and varroa mite has changed them often since 2022. The details below are as at October 2026. Before you act on anything, open the official page for your state, which is linked in each section.

Summary table

State or territory	Who regulates bees	Main law	Official bee page
NSW	NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD)	Biosecurity Act 2015 and Biosecurity Regulation 2017	Beekeeper registration
VIC	Agriculture Victoria	Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 and Livestock Disease Control Regulations 2017	Legal obligations of beekeepers
QLD	Biosecurity Queensland (Department of Primary Industries)	Biosecurity Act 2014	Legal requirements for beekeepers
SA	Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA), Biosecurity SA	Livestock Act 1997	PIRSA bees
WA	Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD WA)	Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007	Beekeeper registration and responsibilities
TAS	Biosecurity Tasmania (Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania)	Biosecurity Act 2019	Compulsory beekeeper registration
NT	Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Plant Biosecurity)	Livestock Act 2008 and Livestock Regulations 2009	Honey bees and beekeeping
ACT	ACT Biosecurity (ACT Government)	Biosecurity Regulation 2025	Bees and beekeeper registration

For registration, terms and hive marking in each state, see Registering your hives, by state. That page is not repeated here.

Rules that apply Australia-wide

The Biosecurity Code of Practice

The Australian Honey Bee Industry Biosecurity Code of Practice is an industry and government code published on BeeAware. It is not a law on its own, but some states make following it a condition of registration. NSW and Tasmania both do. The Code was revised in late 2025 after varroa mite became established in parts of Australia. Under NSW’s description of the Code, Part B applies to every beekeeper with European honey bees whatever the hive count, and Part C applies to beekeepers managing 20 or more hives. Read the current Code on the BeeAware Code of Practice page.

Notifiable pests and diseases

A notifiable pest or disease is one the law says you must report if you know of it or suspect it. BeeAware says reporting notifiable diseases is a legal requirement in every state and territory, and that you must know which ones are notifiable where your hives are. It lists four as notifiable across Australia:

American foulbrood
tracheal mite
Tropilaelaps mites
varroa mite

Varroa is no longer notifiable in the ACT: see Australian Capital Territory below.

Each state also has its own list, which differs from the others and includes exotic pests such as foreign honey bee species. This page does not copy those lists, because they change. Check your state’s list on its official page:

Only a laboratory test confirms a notifiable disease, so report what you see and do not wait for certainty. More on this is in the Foulbrood page.

Varroa mite, in brief

Varroa mite was first found near Newcastle, NSW, in June 2022. As at October 2026 it has also been detected in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT. Biosecurity Tasmania says Tasmania is still free of it. The National Varroa Mite Management Program ended on 6 February 2026, and state governments now give local advice. See Varroa mite for the pest itself.

How often you should check your hives, and whether you must report, depends on where you keep bees. The state sections below set this out.

Moving hives between states

Every state sets its own conditions for bringing in bees, hives, honey and used equipment, and penalties can apply. The industry body AHBIC publishes a state-by-state Interstate Hive Movement Guideline, dated 3 July 2026. The headlines below come from the state pages and that guide, and they have changed several times since 2022.

Check before you move. Read the destination state’s official page, and the rules for any state you pass through, before every move. Do not rely on a summary, including this one.

New South Wales

Law and duty: the Biosecurity Act 2015 and Biosecurity Regulation 2017. Under section 22 of the Act, anyone who deals with a pest or disease and knows, or ought to know, the risk it poses has a “general biosecurity duty” to prevent, eliminate or minimise that risk so far as is reasonably practicable. NSW DPIRD also says following the Biosecurity Code of Practice is a condition of beekeeper registration.
Regulator: NSW DPIRD.
Varroa: NSW DPIRD recommends checking for varroa monthly. Check its varroa page for what you must report.
Moving bees in: DPIRD says the Biosecurity Order (Permitted Activities) 2019 sets out when bees and hives can be moved into NSW. The AHBIC guide says there are no restrictions on healthy bees and hives entering NSW.

Official pages: NSW DPIRD beekeeper registration, NSW varroa mite, Movement of bees.

Victoria

Law: the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 and Livestock Disease Control Regulations 2017 are the legal basis for controlling bee diseases.
Regulator: Agriculture Victoria.
Varroa: Agriculture Victoria recommends testing four times a year, rising to every four weeks once varroa is established in your area. Check its varroa page for what you must report and how.
Moving bees in: Agriculture Victoria says you need a health certificate to bring bees in. The AHBIC guide says permits are no longer needed. Because these differ, confirm the current rule with Agriculture Victoria before you move bees in.

Official pages: Legal obligations of beekeepers, Varroa FAQ, Moving bees interstate.

Queensland

Law and duty: the Biosecurity Act 2014. Business Queensland says beekeepers have a “general biosecurity obligation” to make sure their activities do not spread a pest, disease or contaminant, by taking all reasonable and practical steps. Not meeting it is an offence.
Regulator: Biosecurity Queensland, in the Department of Primary Industries.
Varroa: Business Queensland recommends checking monthly and asks you to log each check on the Bee 123 form, even a clear one. Check its varroa page for what you must report.
Moving bees in: Business Queensland (page updated December 2025) says you can bring bees into Queensland without a permit, but must meet your general biosecurity obligation. The AHBIC guide agrees that permits are no longer required.

Official pages: Legal requirements for beekeepers, Check your hives for varroa mite, Moving bees and hives.

South Australia

Law: the Livestock Act 1997.
Regulator: PIRSA (Biosecurity SA).
Varroa: PIRSA asks beekeepers who have or have had hives within 25 km of a detection to test every 3 to 4 weeks. Check its varroa page for what you must report.
Moving bees in: bees, hives, apiary products and used equipment cannot be brought into South Australia without written permission from the Chief Inspector of Stock, with an apiary health certificate. The AHBIC guide lists the same steps.

Official pages: PIRSA bees, PIRSA varroa mite, Moving bees and apiary commodities.

Western Australia

Law: the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (the BAM Act).
Regulator: DPIRD WA.
Varroa: DPIRD WA says varroa has not been detected in Western Australia. If you suspect it, contact DPIRD.
Moving bees in: DPIRD WA says it is illegal to bring bees, bee products and used beekeeping equipment into WA without meeting the import conditions (Quarantine WA’s import requirement H02). The AHBIC guide lists bees as not permitted except under an import permit. Contact Quarantine WA before you plan a move.
Small hive beetle: very restricted in northern WA.

Official pages: Beekeeper registration and responsibilities, Pests and diseases in honey bees.

Tasmania

Law: the Biosecurity Act 2019. Registered beekeepers must follow the Code of Practice.
Regulator: Biosecurity Tasmania.
Varroa: Biosecurity Tasmania says Tasmania is currently varroa-free, and that varroa is a notifiable pest in Tasmania. Report suspected varroa to Biosecurity Tasmania.
Moving bees in: a General Biosecurity Direction (Emergency) restricts the import of bees, apiary products and used apiary equipment, to help keep varroa out. The AHBIC guide lists movement from any other state as prohibited. Read the direction on Biosecurity Tasmania’s site before planning any move.

Official pages: Compulsory beekeeper registration, Varroa mite, Rules for moving bees.

Northern Territory

Law: the Livestock Act 2008 and Livestock Regulations 2009. The Livestock Regulations were amended from 22 May 2025, so check the current text.
Regulator: the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, through Plant Biosecurity.
Moving bees in: the NT is a declared protected area for honey bees. You cannot bring beehives, including used brood boxes, supers and nucleus hives, into the NT. Other allowed bees or bee products need a declared area movement permit and a government-endorsed health certificate, approved before the move. The AHBIC guide also lists hive movement into the NT from any state as prohibited.

Official page: NT Government honey bees and beekeeping.

Australian Capital Territory

Law: the Biosecurity Regulation 2025. Registration is mandatory, as set out on Registering your hives.
Regulator: ACT Biosecurity.
Varroa: varroa mite is no longer notifiable in the ACT, and the ACT Government says you do not need to report its presence. The ACT’s list of notifiable pests that took effect on 5 June 2026 no longer includes it. You must still register your hives, and if you suspect varroa you can phone ACT Biosecurity for help. Some older ACT pages still list varroa as notifiable.
Moving bees in: the AHBIC guide does not cover the ACT. Ask ACT Biosecurity before moving bees in.

Official pages: ACT varroa mite, ACT bees.

Keeping up with changes

Agriculture departments change their pages without notice, and some state pages still carry older wording. When two official pages disagree, phone the department. This section of The Bee Bible is checked against official sources, and the “Last checked” date at the top shows when. For current outbreaks, see Current alerts. For help working out what you are looking at in a hive, see the Diagnosis guide.