Beekeeping and The Livestock Disease Control Act 1994

Beekeeping and the Livestock Disease
Control Act 1994
Updated: July 2008

AG1100
ISSN 1329-8062
Russell Goodman, Knoxfield
Introduction
The Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 and Livestock
Disease Control Regulations 1996 provide the legal basis
for monitoring and control of diseases of animals and bees
in Victoria. The following notes explain the sections of
the Act that apply to beekeeping.
Registration of beekeepers
Anyone who keeps one or more hives of bees is required
to register with the Department of Primary Industries
(DPI) as a beekeeper.
Registration enables DPI to conduct disease prevention
and control programs for the benefit of beekeepers. This
includes the mailing of helpful information from time to
time.
Registered beekeepers may have access to compensation
for loss of bees and hives due to infection with the honey
bee brood disease, American foulbrood (see below for
further details).
Application forms
Application forms for registration as a beekeeper are
available from the Bee Registrar, Department of Primary
Industries, Telephone 1800 356 761, or write to PO Box
2500, Bendigo Delivery Centre, Victoria, 3554. Forms are
also available from DPI apiary inspectors and from the
Department of Primary Industries website. Visit:
http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/ and search for honey bees.
Registration fee
A fee must accompany the application for registration as
follows:
where a person keeps at least one hive but not more

than 60 hives - $15.00
where a person keeps more than 60 hives - 25 cents

per hive.
(In certain cases, a higher fee may apply to beekeepers
when renewing their registration - see under heading
Renewal of registration).
State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries
Certificate of registration
A certificate of registration is issued by the Bees Registrar
and shows the beekeepers registered number (brand)
allotted by DPI.
Renewal of registration
Registration expires on 30th of June each year. Renewal of
registration must occur before 30th June to avoid being not
registered. DPI will routinely forward application forms
for renewal of registration to all registered beekeepers.
Contact the Bees Registrar if an application form has not
been received by 30th June.
Fees for renewal of registration are higher for beekeepers
who did not participate in the DPI/honey bee industry AFB
Smart honey testing program of the previous season.
Beekeepers requested to pay the high fee should carefully
read the renewal of registration application form because
exceptions may apply to beekeepers who have a genuine
reason for not submitting a sample.
Construction of hives
Good beekeeping practices include regular inspections of
brood and honey combs in all hives for honey bee diseases
and pests. Proper inspections are impossible when hives
do not have beeswax combs held within moveable frames.
The Act requires beekeepers to only keep hives that have
easily and individually removable frames.
In cases where hives dont contain moveable frames, the
Act empowers DPI apiary inspectors to order beekeepers
to transfer the combs to moveable frames or destroy the
bees.
The Act does not stipulate dimensions for hives and
frames. However, almost all beekeepers in Victoria use
the 8- or 10-frame Langstroth full-depth hive.
Branding hives
All hives must be marked or branded with the beekeepers
registered number (brand) that is printed on the Certificate
of Registration. Branding of hives enables DPI apiary
inspectors to identify the owners of hives and notify them
of disease, vandalism, theft and other problems.
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Beekeeping and the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994
The letter and figures of the brand may be painted,

stenciled, stamped, carved or fire branded (burnt) onto the
hive. The letter and figures must be readable at all times
and must not be less than 19 mm high. The brand is
usually placed under the handhold at both ends of the box.
The Act does not require all hive components to be
branded, but most beekeepers prefer to do so, including
top bars of frames, as this helps to prevent theft.
Anyone who obtains a hive must:
cancel the brand of the previous owner by placing a

mark over the brand number on the hive
place his or her own brand on the hive.

This must be done within 28 days of acquiring the hive. It
is illegal for a registered beekeeper to have a hive that is
not branded with his or her registered brand number.
However, it is legal for a beekeeper to have a hive branded
with another registered beekeepers brand provided he or
she has the permission of that registered beekeeper.
Disposal of hives
The Bees Registrar must be notified in writing within 7
days when a hive is sold or given away. Notice of disposal
forms are available from the Bee Registrar and DPI apiary
inspectors. The form is printed on the reverse side of the
form Application for registration or renewal of
registration as a beekeeper and is also available from the
Department of Primary Industries website. Visit:
http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/ and search for honey bees.
Disease and exposure of bees to infected

hives and equipment
Diseases of bees are easily spread when bees gain access
to hives, beeswax, hive components and other beekeeping
equipment infected with disease. The bees can carry
disease-causing organisms (for example, American
foulbrood bacteria) back to their own hive.
The Act states that hives, beeswax, hive components and
other beekeeping equipment infected with disease, or
taken from a diseased hive, must not be exposed in any
way that enables bees to have access to those items. This
does not apply if the items have been disinfected by
gamma-irradiation or hot wax dipping under procedures
provided by an apiary inspector.
Honey infected with disease must not be exposed or
extracted in a way that allows bees access to it.
Access of bees to honey

Even when bee disease is not present in honey, bees must
not gain access to it. This applies to honey on or in
honeycomb, wax cappings, wax scraps, hive components,
and other beekeeping equipment. It also applies when
extracting honey and rendering beeswax.
Notification of bee disease

The Act requires outbreaks or suspicion of exotic disease
to be reported immediately. The presence, or suspicion of
presence, of American foulbrood must be notified within
12 hours. Further details are presented in the Information
AG1100
Note (AG0763) Which diseases of bees must be

notified? Alternatively, beekeepers can seek advice from
apiary inspectors.
Direction to attend at hives

The Act empowers an inspector to request in writing the
beekeepers attendance and assistance with an inspection
of his or her hives.
At least 7 days notice must be given by the inspector,
unless reasonable grounds exist for believing the hives are
infected with disease and the inspector notifies the
beekeeper of this fact.
Cleanup of disease outbreaks

When outbreaks of AFB occur, it is necessary to clean and
disinfect (sterilise) infected hive components by gammairradiation or hot wax dipping, as agreed by the beekeeper
and inspector.
The inspector may order destruction of items if
disinfection is not feasible.
Other beekeeping equipment such as hive tools, honey
extractors and wax reducers may be washed or steam
cleaned to remove honey, beeswax and propolis.
The apiary inspector may issue a direction in writing
which states the method and time by which the beekeeper
must complete the clean-up procedure.
Agreements with beekeepers

The Act enables a beekeeper and the Department of
Primary Industries to enter into a written agreement to
achieve effective control and clean up of a disease
outbreak. The agreement sets out the steps that both
parties will take to deal with the outbreak and minimise
the risk of further outbreaks.
Abandoned and neglected hives

Abandoned or neglected hives may become diseased and a
source of infection to other managed or feral honey bee
colonies. If an inspector is satisfied on reasonable grounds
that bees, hives or beekeeping equipment are abandoned or
neglected, the inspector may seize them and dispose of
them in accordance with the Regulations.
In the case of hives that are branded, the inspector is
required to give the beekeeper at least 7 days notice of the
intention to dispose of the items. During this period, the
beekeeper can claim the hives.
Hives placed on public land without the necessary licence
or permit can also be considered abandoned.
Introduction of bees, hives, used hive

equipment and bee products into Victoria
The Regulations specify restrictions on the introduction of
bees, queen bees, queen cells, package bees, used hives,
used hive components, used apiary equipment and apiary
(bee) products from other States and Territories.
A certificate must accompany bees, queens and any of the
above items when introduced into Victoria.
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Beekeeping and the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994
The certificate is signed by the person introducing the item

and must be countersigned by a government apiary officer
in the State or Territory of origin. Copies of the certificate
are available from interstate apiary officers and Victorian
apiary inspectors.
In brief, the certificate must state that the item(s) to be
introduced into Victoria come from apiaries free of
disease.
Introduction of bee colonies from Tasmania is not
permitted due to the presence of Braula fly (Bee louse) in
that State. Written approval must be obtained from DPI
before any introduction of queen bees, honeycomb and
used beekeeping equipment from Tasmania. Special
provisions apply to these introductions.
Bee-collected pollen introduced from other States and
Territories for feeding to Victorian honey bee colonies
must be gamma-irradiated at 15 Kilo Gray before or
immediately after introduction to Victoria. Irradiation
kills disease organisms and leaves the pollen safe to feed
to healthy colonies.
Victorian beekeepers who take bees, hives, hive
components, apiary equipment and apiary products
interstate are required to have a certificate when moving
these items back into Victoria. The certificate must be
signed by the beekeeper, but it is not required to be
countersigned by a government apiary officer when:
the period interstate was not more than 3 months
there has been no known outbreak of American

Foulbrood disease during the last 6 months within a
radius of 5 kilometres from where the bees and other
items were located.
Compensation and the Bees

Compensation Fund
Beekeepers may be eligible to receive compensation if
their bees and/or hives are destroyed or sterilised due to
infection by the honey bee brood disease, American
foulbrood (AFB).
Compensation for loss due to AFB is not payable to an
unregistered beekeeper or to a beekeeper who failed to
notify the presence of field signs of AFB in his or her
hives to a DPI inspector.
Compensation is paid from the Bees Compensation Fund.
The money in the fund is derived from registration fees
paid by beekeepers.
Apicultural Industry Advisory Committee

This committee has 5 members appointed by the Minister
for Agriculture for three year terms. Three members are
nominated by the Victorian Apiarists Association Inc. and
two members are nominated by the Secretary of the
Department of Primary Industries.
The Committee advises the Minister for Agriculture about:
AG1100
bee diseases for which compensation should be

payable
amount of compensation payable to apiarists
amount of registration fees
any other matter referred to the Committee by the

Minister.
Penalties
People guilty of an offence under the Act and Regulations
may be liable to a penalty. Infringement notices may be
issued under certain circumstances.
Further information
The Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 and Livestock
Disease Control Regulations 1996 can be downloaded
from the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary
Documents website: http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au At
the site, click on Victorian Law Today to search for the
Act and Regulations.
Copies of the Act and Regulations may be purchased from
Information Victoria Bookshop, 505 Little Collins Street,
Melbourne. Telephone 1300 366 356 (local call cost) or
Internet: www.information.vic.gov.au
Apiary inspectors
Wangaratta
Joe Riordan
Telephone 5723 8668
Mobile 0417 348 457
Bairnsdale
Ray Gribbin
Telephone 5152 0600
Mobile 0428 399 105
Bendigo
Bill Shay
Telephone 5430 4495
Mobile 0419 337 276
Apiary Code of Practice

In addition to the requirements of the Livestock Disease
Control Act 1994 and Regulations, all Victorian
beekeepers are required to comply with the Apiary Code
of Practice 1997. The Code may be downloaded from the
Planning Publications page of the Department of Planning
and Community Development web site. Visit:
www.dpcd.vic.gov.au and click on Planning, click on
Publications, click on Codes of Practice and Guidelines
and then click on Apiary Code of Practice May 1997.
This Information Note was originally developed by Russell
Goodman and Peter Kaczynski and was previously
published on March 2008.
The advice provided in this publication is intended as a source of information only. Always read the label before using any of the products mentioned.
The State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular
purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this
publication.
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Beekeeping and the Livestock Disease

Control Act 1994

Updated: July 2008

Russell Goodman, Knoxfield

where a person keeps at least one hive but not more

where a person keeps more than 60 hives - 25 cents

State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries

Beekeeping and the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994

The letter and figures of the brand may be painted,

cancel the brand of the previous owner by placing a

place his or her own brand on the hive.

Disease and exposure of bees to infected

Access of bees to honey

Notification of bee disease

State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries

Note (AG0763) Which diseases of bees must be

Direction to attend at hives

Cleanup of disease outbreaks

Agreements with beekeepers

Abandoned and neglected hives

Introduction of bees, hives, used hive

Beekeeping and the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994

The certificate is signed by the person introducing the item

the period interstate was not more than 3 months

there has been no known outbreak of American

Compensation and the Bees

Apicultural Industry Advisory Committee

bee diseases for which compensation should be

amount of compensation payable to apiarists

amount of registration fees

any other matter referred to the Committee by the

Apiary Code of Practice

State of Victoria, Department of Primary Industries

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