Beekeeping in WA

Beekeeping on Crown Land in Western Australia

The Department of Environment and Conservation manages beekeeper access to all public land through the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984. Apiary sites occur on all types of Crown land.

As at 30 June 2006, the department has issued 3473 current apiary site permits on all land tenures and around 1789 permits are on land vested in the Conservation Commission. Some 76 per cent of the honey resource in Western Australia is located on these lands. There are approx 100 beekeepers registered to collect honey from these sites.

Permits can be issued for up to five years. Stringent environmental conditions ensure compliance with the department's management requirements, water catchment guidelines, dieback control and fire prevention.

The department can grant apiary site permits for the purpose of keeping an apiary on land vested in the Conservation Commission, subject to consultation with the Commission and the approval of the Minister for the Environment. The department also seeks the approval of other government agencies when applications are received for the placement of beehives on land not managed by the department.

Further information on apiary sites in Western Australia:

• Code of Conduct - Pastoral Leases (pdf, 48kb) - under review
• Standard Apiary Site Conditions (36kb, pdf)
• Apiary Site Permit Application Form (pdf, 427kb)
• Proposal To Place Beehives On A Pastoral Lease 2007-03-06 14:13:31 122.19 Kb
• Temporary Occupation Of A Registered Apiary Site Permit Which Is Currently Not Being Used By The Current Permit Holder 2007-03-06 14:31:57 89.71 Kb
• Application To Transfer Apiary Site Permit/s 2007-03-06 14:38:57 123.87 Kb

Beekeeping policy

• Draft Revised Beekeeping Policy - This public comment period for this draft policy has now closed. 

Feral bees

• Development of a Feral Bee Control Strategy for Western Australia (228kb, pdf)

Other enquiries

If you can't find the information you are seeking in these pages, please email the Apiary Site Officer at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone (08) 9334 0529.